Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations New York Field Office, and Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, announced that KRISTEN CAROTENUTO, 35, of Pelham, New York, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to tampering with vials of hydromorphone and fentanyl at a surgical clinic in Stamford where she was employed as a nurse.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Carotenuto was employed as a nurse at an outpatient surgical center in Stamford. As part of her employment, she was granted access to a secure location used by the surgical center to store controlled substances, including hydromorphone and fentanyl. In December 2024, Carotenuto removed several vials, each containing hydromorphone or fentanyl, from the secure storage area. She then took the vials home, removed the controlled substances using a syringe, and used the drugs. She then refilled the vials with either saline or water and returned the tampered vials to the storage area in a location where they could be distributed for patient use.
Carotenuto pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for June 30.
Carotenuto is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing. She has surrendered her nursing license.
This matter is being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; the DEA’s Hartford Diversion Control Division; and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.
The New York Times Connections game asks players to categorise 16 words into four groups of four. For example, in one collection of 16, a category included “blow”, “cat”, “gold” and “sword”: these are all words that might come before “fish”.
As described by puzzle editor Wyna Liu, completing the puzzle should feel “challenging and satisfying”. Players are encouraged to “think flexibly”. Liu says her job as puzzle designer is “to trick you”.
Challenging word-based games are not a modern invention.
In fact, in early medieval England, around the year 1000, there was also a strong appetite for word puzzles designed to entertain (and trick) avid players.
Gaming in the Middle Ages
Riddles were very popular in early medieval England.
Many examples of riddles from this period are in Latin, but a collection of approximately 95 poems, written in Old English and found in a manuscript known as the Exeter Book are the earliest surviving vernacular collection of riddles in Western Europe.
Compiled around the year 1000, The Exeter Book also includes a variety of poetic works with both religious and secular themes. This, and its location since 1072 in Exeter Cathedral Library, suggests it had a religious audience of monks.
Take the shortest riddle in the Exeter collection, Riddle 69, included here in both its original Old English form and in translation, thanks to riddles scholar Megan Cavell, one of the creators of the website The Riddle Ages:
Wundor wearð on wege; wæter wearð to bane.
There was a wonder on the wave; water turned to bone.
Early English riddles ask their audience to guess what the different clues point to, usually an object or animal. In Riddle 69, the audience is asked to identify what might be referred to through the metaphor of water turning to bone.
The solution to this riddle is debated, but most suggestions have to do with ice: ice, icicle, iceberg and frozen pond.
The Exeter Book is a 10th Century poetry anthology written in Old English. Per Se/Flickr, CC BY-SA
The answer hangs on the various qualities that attach to the word bone: it is hard, difficult to break and can also be long, like an icicle.
It’s possible to imagine bone and ice linked in a Connections category “things that are tough”.
Most Old English riddles are a little more complex but still rely on the trickery that comes from word play, metaphor and ambiguity.
One of the more surprising riddles in the Exeter collection (particularly when we consider the likely monastic audience) is Riddle 45:
I heard that something was growing in the corner,
swelling and sticking up, raising its roof.
A proud bride grasped that boneless thing,
with her hands. A lord’s daughter
covered with a garment that bulging thing.
A series of clues point to possible solutions. The answer will be something that rises, that needs physical touch to grow, and which is covered by cloth.
The innocently playful solution to this riddle is dough – though it certainly puts another, more vulgar, solution in mind. This innuendo likely added to the entertainment and challenge of the original riddle, teasing its audience with a taboo answer.
The Exeter Book Riddles does not come with answers. This is both a frustration and a reason for their longevity: modern audiences continue to grapple with possible solutions 1,000 years later.
It is also possible that part of the entertainment for both medieval and modern audiences is their ambiguity. There are multiple plausible solutions.
Culture is a game changer
Part of what makes interpreting the Old English riddles so difficult for modern players is that word puzzles are shaped by the culture in which they were created.
This cultural coding is obvious in Connections puzzles too. For example on January 3 2025 a category linked American slang words for a dollar, less familiar in other countries: buck, clam, single and smacker.
Similarly, Old English riddles assume knowledge of aspects of life in early medieval England. For example, Riddle 26 requires an understanding of the processes by which an animal hide became a book.
To truly understand many riddles, you need to know the context in which they were written. Getty
Old English riddles offer an excellent insight into not just the sorts of games and puzzles that entertained early medieval audiences, and continue to entertain us today, but also into domestic life in the period.
In 1,000 years, Connections puzzles will be harder to guess because players will be unfamiliar with our current way of life. They will also be a type of relic into how minds and culture operated in the early 21st century.
Emma Knowles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The public are being advised by The Highland Council of path improvement works being carried out at B9006 Culloden Battlefield Crossroads, Culloden Moor between Monday 21 April until Friday 25 April 2025.
Works are to prepare and surface existing paths around the junction and construct new path connections and crossing points to enhance accessibility and safety of users of the Battlefield Trail path. This will provide for safer access to the Culloden Battlefield World Heritage Site and local amenity facilities.
Temporary Traffic Lights using 4-way lights at the crossroads on the B9006 (and short length on the connecting C1028 and C1088 roads) over the length of the works will be in operation. This is to allow for safe working practices and to safely manage traffic during construction. Accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists will be maintained within the traffic management arrangements and delays will be kept to a minimum.
Advance signs will be erected this week at the crossroads giving prior notice to the public about the forthcoming works.
The Highland Council apologise for any inconvenience.
The public are being advised by The Highland Council of path improvement works being carried out at B9006 Culloden Battlefield Crossroads, Culloden Moor between Monday 21 April until Friday 25 April 2025.
Works are to prepare and surface existing paths around the junction and construct new path connections and crossing points to enhance accessibility and safety of users of the Battlefield Trail path. This will provide for safer access to the Culloden Battlefield World Heritage Site and local amenity facilities.
Temporary Traffic Lights using 4-way lights at the crossroads on the B9006 (and short length on the connecting C1028 and C1088 roads) over the length of the works will be in operation. This is to allow for safe working practices and to safely manage traffic during construction. Accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists will be maintained within the traffic management arrangements and delays will be kept to a minimum.
Advance signs will be erected this week at the crossroads giving prior notice to the public about the forthcoming works.
The Highland Council apologise for any inconvenience.
There will be a number of temporary prohibitions of traffic and temporary speed restrictions during the ‘Etape Loch Ness 2025’ cycling event which takes place on Sunday 27 April.
The restrictions are required to ensure the safe passage of participants taking part in the event and will apply during the dates and times provided below.
The measures will temporarily prohibit any motor vehicle, trailer or cycle from:
(a) Travelling in any direction on the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road between its junction with Bught Drive, Inverness, and its junction with the C1118 General Booth Road, from 05:45 hours to 07:15 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(b) Travelling in any direction on the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road between its junction with the C1118 General Booth Road, Inverness, and its junction with the A831 Drumnadrochit – Cannich – Beauly Toll Road, from 05:20 hours to 08:05 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(c) Travelling in any direction on the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road between its junction with the A831 Drumnadrochit – Cannich – Beauly Toll Road and its junction with the private road leading to Urquhart Castle, from 06:15 hours to 08:15 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(d) Travelling in any direction on the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road between its junction with the private road leading to Urquhart Castle and its junction with the U1766 Dalcataig Road, Invermoriston, from 06:05 hours to 09:05 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(e) Travelling in any direction on the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road between its junction with the U1766 Dalcataig Road, Invermoriston, and its junction with the B862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dores – Inverness Road, from 06:40 hours to 09:35 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(f) Travelling in any direction on the B862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dores Inverness Road between its junction with the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road and its junction with the B852 Dalcrag Bridge – Foyers – Inverfarigaig – Dores Road, from 06:50 hours to 10:55 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(g) Travelling in any direction on the B852 Dalcrag Bridge – Foyers – Inverfarigaig – Dores Road between its junction with the B862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dores – Inverness Road and its junction with the C1080 Inverfarigaig – Errogie Road, from 07:25 hours to 11:20 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(h) Travelling in any direction on the B852 Dalcrag Bridge – Foyers – Inverfarigaig – Dores Road between its junction with the C1080 Inverfarigaig – Errogie Road and its junction with the B862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dores – Inverness Road, from 07:25 hours to 12:20 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(i) Travelling in any direction on the B862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dores – Inverness Road between its junction with the B852 Dalcrag Bridge – Foyers – Inverfarigaig – Dores Road and Holm Roundabout, from 07:55 hours to 12:45 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(j) Travelling in a northbound direction on the B862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dores – Inverness Road between Holm Roundabout and its junction with the B861 Inverness – Leys – Inverarnie Road (Ness Bridge Junction), from 08:15 hours to 13:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(k) Travelling in any direction on Ness Walk, Inverness, between its junction with Young Street and its junction with Ardross Terrace, from 07:55 hours to 13:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(l) Travelling in any direction on Ardross Terrace, Inverness, between its junction with Ness Walk and its junction with Bishops Road, from 07:55 hours to 13:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(m) Travelling in any direction on Bishops Road, Inverness, between its junction with Ness Walk Upper and its junction with Ardross Terrace, from 18:00 hours on Saturday 26 April 2025 to 15:30 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(n) Travelling in any direction on Ness Walk Upper, Inverness, between its junction with Bishops Road and its junction with Ballifeary Lane, from 05:00 hours to 08:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(o) Travelling in any direction on Ness Walk Upper, Inverness, between its junction with Ballifeary Lane and its junction with Bught Road, from 18:00 hours on Saturday 26 April 2025 to 08:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(p) Travelling in any direction on Bught Road, Inverness, between its junction with Ness Walk Upper and its junction with Bught Avenue, from 18:00 hours on Saturday 26 April 2025 to 08:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(q) Travelling in any direction on Bught Road, Inverness, between its junction with Bught Avenue and its junction with Whin Park, from 21:00 hours on Saturday 26 April 2025 to 08:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(r) Travelling in any direction on Bught Avenue, Inverness, between its junction with Bught Road and its junction with Bught Lane, from 18:00 hours on Saturday 26 April 2025 to 07:30 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(s) Travelling in any direction on Bught Drive, Inverness, between its junction with Bught Avenue and its junction with the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road, from 05:00 hours to 07:10 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
(t) Travelling in a southbound direction on the A8082 Inverness Southern Distributor Road between Ness Side Roundabout and Holm Roundabout, from 08:15 hours to 13:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
There will also be a temporary speed limit of 20 miles per hour on the B862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dores – Inverness Road commencing at its junction with Holm Roundabout and extending in a northerly direction to a point 34 metres, or thereby, south of its southernmost junction with the U3809 Bellfield Park Inverness, from 08:15 hours to 13:00 hours on Sunday 27 April 2025.
The Order, which is required to ensure the safe passage of participants taking part in the ‘Etape Loch Ness 2025’ cycling event, will only have effect in relation to such part or parts of the lengths of road as are indicated by the appropriate traffic signs or cones.
Emergency services vehicles being used in an emergency for ambulance, coastguard, fire brigade or police purposes, and vehicles employed to ensure the safety of the event participants are exempt from the restriction and prohibitions detailed in the Order.
Vehicles driven under escort are exempt from the restriction and prohibitions detailed in the Order.
Special Forces vehicles, when driven by a member of the special forces in response to a national security emergency, are exempt from the restriction and prohibitions detailed in the Order.
Cyclists who are registered to participate in the ‘Etape Loch Ness 2025’ cycling event are exempt from the restriction and prohibitions detailed in the Order.
But HBC was always more than a hinterland mercantile fur trader in earlier centuries, just as it was more than a department store anchoring downtown shopping in the 20th century.
Like the beaver it nearly wiped out, HBC made Canada into its home by fundamentally transforming its environment, and no bankruptcy court will liquidate that legacy. Still, that legacy is more complex than many might assume.
HBC’s initials have sometimes been jokingly elaborated as “here before Christ.” But if we were to take a more secular tone, we might instead say it was “here before Canada,” initiating some of the country’s basic economic and political institutions.
In 1670, England’s King Charles II granted 18 investors the power to make laws, monopolize trade, enforce penalties and establish colonies in Rupert’s Land. Some four million square kilometres, this land grant centred on Hudson Bay but ranged from Labrador in the northeast to the Prairies in the southwest.
Along with establishing fur-trading posts populated by transient servants, the company created its own colonies. In 1811, HBC shareholder Thomas Douglas (Lord Selkirk) organized the first settlers in the Prairies at Red River, now Winnipeg. Forty years later, in 1851, HBC’s former chief factor James Douglas took charge of developing Victoria on Vancouver Island.
Of course, Indigenous Peoples were in these areas before long before Canada and long before HBC was. To secure its investments and protect its settlers, HBC representatives negotiated the first treaties with Indigenous Peoples west of the Great Lakes.
The 1817 Selkirk Treaty at Red River and the 14 Douglas Treaties on Vancouver Island in the 1850s are examples of HBC’s expansive role in settler colonialism. Overlooked for some time, the Douglas Treaties are now shaping jurisprudence.
Likewise, transferring the six-storey, 94-year-old HBC department store in downtown Winnipeg to 34 First Nations in 2022 might be seen as a form of reconciliation. However, the company itself indicated “shifting consumer behaviour” was the reason for the handover.
Land and sovereignty
Beyond its treaties with Indigenous Peoples and support for settler farmers, HBC is further implicated in the formation of Canadian sovereign territory writ large.
If asked to name famous real estate transactions formative for state-making in North America, one might readily think of Louisiana or Alaska, but Canada, too, was created through purchase. HBC sold Rupert’s Land to the government of Canada for $1.5 million in 1869, forming a significant portion of what we now know as modern-day Canada.
Hudson’s Bay kept roughly seven million acres after the sale, ensuring it would remain a significant force well into the 20th century. Writing of its lands in the Success Belt in the Prairies, HBC argued:
“This land, with a cash payment, was retained as recompense for over 200 years of exploration, pioneering, and trading which the Company had done and without which Canada, as she is today, would not exist.”
Incremental HBC land sales over the coming decades were accompanied by catchy slogans like Victoria as “The Garden of Canada” or Edmonton as Canada’s “Farthest West.”
HBC pamphlets advertised wharves, orchards, gardens, houses, estates, seashore lots, residential subdivisions, hotels and businesses in coastal and interior British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northern Ontario.
It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that the company parted with its remaining residential acreages in Winnipeg in 1954 and Victoria in 1961.
A legacy that outlasts a ledger
The timing of the HBC’s bankruptcy dovetails with renewed anxieties about American annexation as U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatens to turn Canada into the 51st state.
Such annexation anxieties are nothing new for Canada.
In the 1850s, United Kingdom parliamentary support for the HBC monopoly was driven in part by a desire to counter American influence. One English MP warned in 1857 that if the HBC’s trade between the Red River colony and London were to end, “the whole of it would be transferred to the United States.”
As Canadians look to protect the country from foreign threats, it helps to know how the country came to be in the first place. The long-running and multi-faceted role of the HBC is an integral part of Canada’s story; it has always been more than just a company.
Now saddled with $1 billion of debt, HBC’s demise seems inevitable. But its endurance beyond the original 1670 stockholders’ £4,720 investment speaks to its lasting impact. The HBC legacy will surely shape whatever’s next in store for Canada.
Heather Whiteside receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
During the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), held from 10–21 March 2025, countries from around the world reaffirmed their commitment to gender equality through a high-level political declaration. The declaration renewed the global commitment to women’s rights, acknowledged the setbacks and called for urgent, gender-responsive policy action, including the protection of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health across the life course.
A major moment for this advocacy came on 10 March with the official WHO flagship side event, “No gender equality without women’s health”, co-sponsored by WHO, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Mexican States, UN Women and the World Economic Forum. The event drew a full house and highlighted a unified call for evidence-based approaches to address gaps in women’s health across the life course as a core component of advancing gender inequality and through health, particularly amid rising anti-rights rhetoric around the world.
A call for holistic, life-course approaches
The event emphasized that women’s health is not a niche concern, but a global issue that must be addressed across the life course. Without universal access to integrated care for all women, the goals associated with the key commitments of the Beijing Platform for Action will remain out of reach.
Speakers pointed out that while women often live longer than men, they experience poorer health due to systemic barriers and lifelong disadvantage. Investing in women’s health is not only critical for gender equality but could also yield major economic gains, with national health systems potentially saving billions each year.
Addressing data gaps
Several speakers at the event emphasized that limited availability, analysis and use of disaggregated sex and gender data continues to hinder progress. The lack of such data contributes to underinvestment and misdiagnosis, in conditions that specifically, differently or disproportionately affect women and particularly in conditions that remain widely underrecognized, such as endometriosis. Closing this gap and ensuring women’s inclusion in clinical trials could not only improve health outcomes but also generate significant global economic savings, estimated at up to US$ 1 trillion annually.
Young people at the forefront of change
Lucy Fagan, WHO Youth Council member representing the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, offered a vital perspective on the role of youth in advancing gender equality and women’s health. “The Beijing agenda was created before many of us were born,” she said. “Progress is slowing, but youth are now part of the conversation. And we’re here to carry it forward.”
Fagan highlighted that youth-led groups are not only active on the ground, but also resilient, continuing to drive momentum for issues such as sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender-based violence (GBV) and mental health despite political pressures and reduced funding. As well as stressing the need for more data disaggregated by age and sex, she emphasized that “we’re driving the work forward from the ground up.” Lucy’s remarks served as a reminder that young people are essential actors in safeguarding progress from CSW through to Beijing+30, and that their voices are especially critical to countering rising anti-rights narratives, especially in digital spaces.
Working towards more intersectional solutions
Panellists emphasized the need for intersectional approaches that address systemic discrimination faced by marginalized groups: older women, women in detention, women with disabilities, those living in rural or indigenous communities and many others. It was also emphasized that women make up the majority of the global health workforce as well as taking 80% of health decisions at the household level, a massive yet underleveraged influence in shaping healthier societies.
WHO at CSW69
WHO’s engagement at CSW69 extended beyond this flagship event. Other sessions included:
Closing the gender nutrition gap: a key feminist approach to fight hunger and malnutrition, co-sponsored by Action contre la Faim, FHI360;
Digital solutions for gender equality and SRHR, which explored tech-driven innovations for advancing women’s health, co-sponsored by Norway, Colombia, UNFPA and WHO/HRP;
Bridging the divide: men and boys as allies and agents of change, co-sponsored by MenEngage Alliance, UN Women, OHCHR, WHO, UNFPA, Government of Sweden, Government of Rwanda, Equimundo and others; and
From potential to progress: multisectoral approaches to empower adolescents, co-sponsored by UNICEF, WHO, FCDO, Plan International and BRAC.
These events reinforced WHO’s commitment to a rights-based and evidence-driven agenda for gender equality and women’s health. The takeaway from WHO at CSW69 is clear: investing in women’s health is not optional; it is essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda and reflects our shared values. In a time of global challenges, advancing gender-responsive health systems and policies that uphold women’s rights is more urgent than ever. And the voices of young people like Lucy Fagan, which are grounded in community action and solidarity, are joining the multigenerational charge and reminding us that there is no gender equality without women’s health and well-being.
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced the start of a $86.7 million pavement improvement project on a nearly five-mile stretch of the New England Thruway (I-95) in Westchester County. Spanning between Pelham Manor and Mamaroneck, the project also includes the rehabilitation of 12 bridges within this heavily traveled corridor that’s used by approximately 120,000 vehicles a day.
“The New England Thruway is one of the busiest highways in Westchester County and this project will ensure that it remains safe and dependable for years to come,” Governor Hochul said. “Strengthening our infrastructure across the State remains a top priority and this modernization will make critical safety improvements to I-95, providing a better driving experience for the millions of travelers who rely on this critical route.”
New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank G. Hoare said,“We are continuing our ongoing investment in Interstate 95, one of the most critical highway arteries in the Northeast. For the past several years, we have rehabilitated the highway from the Bronx into Westchester County. This project will continue this vital work for another five miles in Westchester by upgrading the roadway and its surrounding infrastructure for our neighboring communities, and the motorists that travel this commuter and commercial corridor.”
The I-95 project will begin with pavement repairs, meaning crews will remove and replace the most deteriorated portions on a nearly five-mile stretch of roadway (milepost 4.0 to 8.8) in both the northbound and southbound direction. Covering close to 30 total lane miles, the repairs will improve the roadway’s structural integrity and extend its service life, reducing the need to make temporary repairs. After the concrete pavement and joints are repaired, a two-course asphalt overlay will be installed to provide a smoother ride for motorists. The work covers the highway just south of exit 15 (New Rochelle – The Pelhams – US Route 1) to exit 18A (Mamaroneck – Fenimore Road). In addition, 12 interchange ramps will be repaired and repaved.
The other major component of the project is work on bridges above or below I-95. Crews will rehabilitate six bridges, including the Centre Avenue bridge in New Rochelle, the Chatsworth Avenue bridge in Larchmont and the bridge over the highway that serves Metro-North Railroad’s Larchmont station. Six other bridges on I-95 will be resurfaced.
Additional safety improvements will include new guiderail and lights, additional reflective line striping, new pavement markings and curb replacement.
Paving operations and the majority of work will take place overnight to reduce impacts to motorists. Motorists may encounter lane closures on I-95 along with traffic shifts and stoppages during construction. All work is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. DeFoe Corp. of Mount Vernon, N.Y., is the project contractor. Photos of one area of the Thruway where contractors will begin work.
A separate ongoing $61.8 million pavement improvement project on I-95 in the Bronx and southern Westchester is scheduled to be completed this summer. It covers the area from milepost 0.0 to 4.0 and includes the rehabilitation of 11 bridges and makes significant improvements to two pedestrian bridges in the Bronx.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “This $86.7 million investment in the New England Thruway is part of the historic momentum we’ve built through the CHIPS program and other transformative infrastructure initiatives across New York State. Rehabilitating these bridges and improving pavement along I-95 will enhance safety, ease travel, and support our local economy. I’d like to thank Governor Hochul for supporting these long-overdue upgrades as we continue delivering real results for Westchester County and the infrastructure our communities rely on every day.”
State Senator Shelley B. Mayer said, “Thank you, Governor Kathy Hochul and the Thruway Authority for beginning this important project to upgrade the I-95 corridor. This stretch of road truly needs upgrading and improvement, and I am confident that my constituents will see a notable improvement in road safety and comfort.”
State Senator Nathalia Fernandez said, “This project will make daily travel safer and smoother for the thousands who rely on I-95 each day. Scheduling construction overnight is a smart, considerate approach that minimizes disruption for nearby families and businesses. It’s encouraging to see the state take action on improvements our community has been waiting for. Thank you to Governor Hochul and the Thruway Authority for moving this work forward.”
Assemblymember Amy Paulin said, “This significant investment in the New England Thruway is a tremendous win for the residents of my district—including those in Pelham and New Rochelle who frequently use Exit 15—and for all of Westchester County. The improvements to road surfaces, bridges, and interchanges will enhance safety, reduce wear and tear on vehicles, and improve the daily commute for thousands. I’m especially pleased that the work will be done primarily overnight, minimizing disruptions for our residents and businesses. Projects like this show government at its best—responsive, effective, and working for the people of New York. I thank Governor Hochul and the New York State Thruway Authority for their continued commitment to investing in our infrastructure and ensuring our communities are supported by safe, modern transportation networks.”
About the Thruway Authority The Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, built in the early 1950s, is one of the oldest components of the National Interstate Highway System and one of the longest toll roads in the nation. The Thruway Authority does not receive any dedicated federal, state or local tax dollars and is paid for by those who drive the Thruway, including one-third of drivers from out of state.
In 2024, the Thruway Authority processed more than 400 million transactions and motorists drove 8.2 billion miles on the Thruway. The Authority’s approved 2025 Budget invests a total of $477.3 million in dedicated funding for capital projects across the Thruway system beginning in 2025, an increase of more than $33 million compared to the approved 2024 budget. The increased investment will lead to work on approximately 61 percent of the Thruway’s more than 2,800 pavement lane miles as well as the replacement or rehabilitation of 20 percent of the Thruway’s 817 bridges.
The Thruway is one of the safest roadways in the country with a fatality rate far below the nationwide index. The Thruway Authority’s top priority is the safety of our employees and customers. In 2024, two Thruway Authority employees died and another was seriously injured in separate incidents while working on the Thruway. The lives of Thruway Authority employees, roadway workers and emergency personnel depend on all of those who travel the highway. Motorists should stay alert and pay attention while driving, slow down in work zones and move over when they see a vehicle on the side of the road. The State’s Move Over Law, which was expanded in March 2024, requires drivers to slow down and move over for all vehicles stopped along the roadway. Safety is a shared responsibility.
For more information, follow the Thruway on Facebook, X and Instagram, or visit the Thruway website.
The problem of the disadvantage gap – also known as the attainment gap – is a persistent one in education in England. It refers to how children from certain groups, such as those from poorer backgrounds, ethnic minorities or who have been in care, do worse at school than their peers.
It’s a central concern of the recent interim report of the ongoing review into England’s national curriculum, which points out that the current system is not working well for everyone.
The disadvantage gaps between groups can be measured in different ways. The more simplistic way is to consider outcome measures, such as exam results, in isolation.
For example, at the end of their primary schooling, eleven-year-olds in English state schools take standardised key stage assessments – SATs. These results are used to calculate the disadvantage gap index. The index ranks all pupils in the country and assesses the difference in the average position of disadvantaged pupils and others. It shows whether the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is widening or closing.
A disadvantage gap of zero would indicate that there is no difference between the average performance of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. According to the Department for Education’s figures for 2023-24, the disadvantage gap index at this level is 3.13 in children’s key stage scores. While it had been decreasing between 2011 and 2018, the gap rose to the highest level since 2012 in 2022.
For GCSEs, taken at age 16, the disadvantage gap index is 3.92. It has decreased slightly after widening in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Measuring progress
A more sophisticated analysis of the disadvantage gap can be made by comparing the rate of progress that children achieve through their schooling career. Children in English state schools take a baseline assessment when they first enter their reception year, and their progress from this point can be measured by comparing with their SATs key stage results in year six.
Ideally, all children would progress in their learning at the same rate. But research by one of us (Nadia Siddiqui) shows that pupils from persistently low socioeconomic groups do not progress at the same level as their counterparts.
A recent longitudinal research study – meaning that it has tracked the same participants over years – has shown that since the pandemic, there has been a very big impact on the reading and maths progress of primary school children from poorer backgrounds.
At secondary level, progress can be measured by comparing children’s progress from their SATs at the end of primary school with their GCSE exam results. This measure is called “progress 8”. It indicates how much a secondary school has helped pupils progress from their point of entry at year seven, when compared to a government-calculated expected level of improvement.
The progress 8 measure focuses on the progression children make from their starting points, as opposed to fixating only on the end points in children’s learning.
The disadvantage gap can be measured using test results to gauge progress over time. panitanphoto/Shutterstock
The government uses this measure not to compare individuals, but rather schools to see how much value has been added by each school relative to other schools. But it also measures the progress of key groups, such as children receiving free school meals or of different ethnicities.
The latest data shows that pupils from poorer backgrounds – those eligible for free school meals – made less progress than their peers. This was the case in every ethnic group.
Reducing the gap
In the last few decades, a number of education policies have been introduced to narrow the disadvantage gap determined by household poverty.
Direct funding to improve educational targets is a popular approach and has been adopted in countries across the world. This means schools receive additional funding for admitting disadvantaged pupils. This money should be spent on evidence-informed interventions for improving educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.
Since 2010, schools in England have been incentivised by pupil premium funding to invest directly in the academic learning of disadvantaged pupils if they are not reaching expected levels. Schools receive funding for each pupil who is, or has been, eligible for free school meals, and for those who have been in care.
Pupil premium funding has changed the pattern of intake of disadvantaged pupils by schools. Segregation of poorer and wealthier pupils, in which pupils from poorer households are clustered in particular schools, has reduced. Schools now take more of a mix of children from poorer and wealthier backgrounds.
This is good because mixed schools create fairer and more inclusive societies where pupils are better equipped to succeed in diverse environments. What’s more, the relative disadvantage gap has slightly improved for pupils at primary school.
The evidence on interventions for disadvantaged pupils is still evolving. For practical reasons, approaches to improving the academic disadvantage gap are mainly applied at school level.
However, in some places, area-based funding schemes, which channel funding to selected regions of particular high poverty, have been introduced. Our research is exploring the extent to which this may be a feasible way to narrow the disadvantage gap.
Ceri Brown receives funding from UKRI (ESRC) and the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit.
Nadia Siddiqui receives funding from UKRI, EEF, British Council.
REVERE, Mass. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended an illegally present Guatemalan national charged with assault and battery family member and assault and battery on a child with injury. Officers with ICE Boston arrested Cosme De Leon-Barrios, 46, in Revere, Jan. 27.
“Cosme De Leon-Barrios is charged with brutally assaulting a child with an injury in our Massachusetts community,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “He represents a significant threat to the residents of New England that ICE Boston will not tolerate. We stand committed to our mission of prioritizing public safety by arresting and removing illegal alien threats to our neighbors.”
De Leon-Barrios illegally entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without being inspected, admitted, or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.
Officers with the Revere Police Department arrested De Leon-Barrios, Jan. 27, and charged him with assault and battery family member and assault and battery on a child with injury.
Officers with ICE Boston arrested De Leon-Barrios following his release from local custody. De Leon-Barrios remains in ICE custody.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X: @EROBoston
UK Government must “meet the moment” with decisive action.
First Minister John Swinney has called for a new package of support for industry from the UK Government in the face of global economic uncertainty.
As financial markets react to global events, Mr Swinney has called on the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to change their fiscal rules and commit to a package of investment to support business, workers and consumers.
The First Minister said:
“We are currently enduring a time of global financial and economic uncertainty and volatility. But while we are not immune to global trends, we can be confident in the strength of Scotland’s economy
“Indeed, throughout my time in the United States since last week, there has been a clear confidence in Scotland as a place to do business and as a destination for investment.
“However, the global economy is clearly going through a time of upheaval and it is vital that we see strong action to meet the moment, support Scottish industry and ensure workers and consumers are protected.
“My government will continue to do everything in our power to do that, but given where powers over the economy sit, this will require clear, determined and decisive action from the UK Government.
“The old economic orthodoxies of Westminster will not be enough to meet a moment of real global challenge. The UK Government cannot meet this global uncertainty with austerity – we need to see a new approach which provides investment and support for industry as we are seeing in countries like Spain.
“It is now obvious that the era in which the UK Government’s fiscal rules were set is over. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor must accept that new reality, end their outdated commitment to the fiscal rules and deliver serious investment to support industry.
“And in the face of this economic volatility, the last move any serious government would implement is a tax on jobs. The increase in employer’s national insurance contributions was always the wrong move – but the Prime Minister should not risk further economic damage by making it more difficult for business to take on or keep staff. The Chancellor should abandon the national insurance hike immediately.
“The events of the last few days require truly bold action from the Prime Minister. He cannot simply respond to an unprecedented situation by continuing with a plan set in completely different circumstances and which already looks doomed to failure.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Two studies published in JAMA Neurology look at diabetes drugs and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Comments on both studies:
Prof Atticus Hainsworth, Professor of Cerebrovascular Disease, St George’s, University of London, said:
“These two studies have looked at drug prescribing databases, to assess whether diabetic medications impact on risk of Alzheimer’s, vascular and other dementia types. The findings are intriguing, even though they are somewhat contradictory. But nothing can substitute for a prospective, hypothesis-testing experiment, which in this context means a prospective clinical trial.”
Prof Mark Evans, University Professor of Diabetic Medicine & Honorary Consultant Physician, Institute of Metabolic Science & Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, said:
Background:
“It is increasingly apparent that there is an association between diabetes and increased risk of dementia. Although it is not clear how this association is mediated (and whether this is to do with elevated blood glucose from diabetes or a broader effect of diabetes for example on the circulation or inflammation pathways), the obvious pragmatic question arising is whether or not treating diabetes with glucose lowering therapies can reduce risk of dementia and importantly whether certain types of glucose lowering therapy are particularly effective.
“Newer glucose lowering treatments used in (type 2) diabetes seem to carry additional health benefits beyond just glucose lowering. For example, treatments that act via signalling at the GLP-1 receptor or by blocking SGLT glucose transporter channels have been shown to carry broader protective effects for the heart and kidneys.
“Some data already exist to suggest that these agents may also have brain-protective effects against the development of dementia. The evidence to date has largely fallen into two different types. Firstly, examining clinical trials of glucose lowering therapies where usually dementia is not the primary focus but in the clinical trials, investigators will document all health changes including a new diagnosis or change in dementia or cognition. Secondly, examining large real-world datasets for the association between diabetes, different types of therapy and a clinical record of dementia.
These two papers:
“These two papers cover each of these areas respectively. Seminer2et al have performed an analysis of clinical trials broadly similar to ones previously reported. They found that glucose-lowering therapies in general were not significantly associated with a reduction in dementia, although when comparing different types of therapy, GLP-1R targeted drugs but not those acting on SGLT channels were associated with a reduction in dementia. There are cautions arising from these data and the authors have acknowledge these appropriately. Overall, the absolute rates of dementia reported in the studies contributing to their analysis were relatively low which thus reduces the ability for this type of analysis to identify differences. There may be a number of reasons for this, for example the clinical trials were not designed to look in detail for possible changes in dementia.
“The other paper from Tang1 et al was a real-world analysis. Consistent with previous data, this did seem to show less dementia in those using either GLP-1R agonists or SGLT2 inhibitors. The authors were aware of the limitations of observational data. In other words, it may be that the type of person receiving these agents was different from the type of person prescribed other glucose lowering therapies. As an example, one obvious potential confounder from their paper was that the groups receiving GLP 1 agonist or SGLT inhibitor therapy were younger than the comparison groups.
General Reflection:
“Overall these papers whet the appetite for two large clinical trials (EVOKE and EVOKE+) that will complete towards the end of this year. These were specifically designed to look at whether semaglutide, a GLP 1 receptor agonist, can reduce progression of Alzheimer’s dementia and may give us a more definitive answer, at least for GLP 1 receptor agonist treatment.”
Prof David Strain, Associate Professor in Cardiometabolic Health, and a clinical geriatrician, University of Exeter, said:
“Living with diabetes is associated with twice the rate of decline towards both vascular and Alzheimer’s Type dementia. Although long-term high blood sugar is recognised to be warm contributor to this, there are many others including genetics, the body’s ability to produce insulin, episodes of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and inflammation. For years, the best way of preventing this was to attempt to keep the sugar in the “goldilocks zone“ that is not too high but not too low.
“GLP-1 receptor antagonists (such as semaglutide and dulaglutide) and SGLT-2 inhibitors (such as dapagliflozin and empagliflozin) have been demonstrated to control the sugar, and also reduce the inflammation (a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease) and reduce vascular risk (a key driver of vascular dementia) more than would be expected by the sugar control alone. It is therefore no surprise that these data show a lower risk of dementia in people who receive them as part of her routine care.
“We must be cautious how we interpret these data though. Firstly, there were very small numbers of events in the randomised control trials and these were not fully validated so there is a possibility that there were many other cases of dementia missed, indeed that patients reported as having Alzheimer’s type dementia may have had other problems. In the database study, we can never be certain of other unmeasured factors that influenced the doctor to prescribe one medication over another. These may also have had an impact on whether a person would progress to dementia or not.
“It is also important to say this is talking about the risk of dementia in people with diabetes. We have recently seen benefit of the GLP-1 RAs for cardiovascular health in people who do not have diabetes, likewise the SGLT 2 inhibitors are regularly used in other conditions. Today’s studies will need to be replicated prospectively, in people with and without diabetes such as the work we are performing at the University of Exeter, to determine if we can help reduce the progression towards dementia in many more people in the country.”
Prof Naveed Sattar, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine/Honorary Consultant, University of Glasgow, said:
“These two papers on potential for GLP-1RA medicines to lower dementia risk are somewhat encouraging but they are FAR from definitive, given the design of one is observational and the numbers of people with dementia in the trial meta-analyses were incredibly small, leading to limited power. Hence, we need to await the results of ongoing randomised trials in this area before drawing sensible conclusions. There is optimism GLP-1RAs (and related medicines) may lower future dementia risk, however, given they favourably impact multiple diseases (cardiovascular, hypertension, kidney and diabetes) known to increase dementia risk, it might be that it is having a lower risk of stroke /heart disease and diabetes that actually then is linked to a lower risk of dementia. Hopefully, far more robust trial evidence – needed before any clinical implications are drawn – should be forthcoming in the near future.”
Dr Ivan Koychev, Clinical Reader in Neuropsychiatry and Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Imperial College London and Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“Both papers are of good quality. Tang et al is a large epidemiological study; the limitation comes from the fact that such designs limit the ability to draw conclusions about causality. Seminer et al look at clinical trial data where dementia and cognitive effects were not the primary targets of the studies. Therefore, it is possible that some of these effects were missed or over-reported due to the opportunistic nature of the data collection.
“The two studies add to a growing and remarkably consistent body of evidence that GLP1 receptor agonists associate with a reduction in dementia incidence. The Seminer et al paper is significant as it shows that GLP-1 RAs outperform SGLT-2 inhibitors in clinical trial settings. This suggests that the dementia protection effects are not due to glucose control mechanisms. Instead, inflammation and cerebrovascular effects are likely involved. Overall, these data support the urgent exploration of GLP1 RAs as a preventative treatment in people at risk for dementia.”
Prof Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute, and President of the British Neuroscience Association said:
“The study by Tang1 and colleagues examined data from over 90,000 people with diabetes to determine whether treatment with two different glucose lowering drugs were associated with risk of developing dementia. Both glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RAs) and
sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2is) drugs were associated with reduced risk of developing dementia over 8 years from starting treatment compared to people taking other glucose lowering treatments. There was no difference in risk between people taking the GLP-1Ras and SGLT2is. This is a strong study that adds to the growing data suggesting that diabetes increases risk for developing dementia.
“The paper from Seminer2 and colleagues examined data from 26 clinical trials to determine whether glucose lowering treatments were associated with developing dementia. They observed that GLP-1Ras but not but not SGLT2is were associated with a reduction in dementia in these trials.
“Together, these data are encouraging for the potential of using GLP-1Ras to lower dementia risk in people with diabetes, but even within these 2 strong studies, there are slightly conflicting results over SGLT2is highlighting the need for further research. It is important to note that these drugs do have side effects and that they are not guaranteed to prevent dementia. The studies had important limitations including a relatively short follow up time. Future work will be important to understand how risk factors like diabetes and obesity increase risk of dementia to develop effective treatments and prevention strategies.”
Dr Emma Anderson, Principal Research Fellow and Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Division of Psychiatry, UCL, said:
“Regarding the systematic review of glucose lowering therapies2, my comments are as follows:
“These results should be interpreted with caution for several reasons. Firstly, although an effect of GLP-1RAs was identified for all cause dementia, the heterogeneity in the studies included in this analysis was high (meaning that the studies included are not necessarily comparable, undermining the validity of the combined results). There was tentative evidence that this heterogeneity could have been explained, at least in part, by the proportion of women included in these studies.
“Secondly, there was no evidence of an effect of GLP-1RAs with either Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia; the two most common causes of dementia. Thus, overall, there is still a question around whether GLP-1RAs would actually reduce dementia risk.
“For the emulated target trial1, my comment is:
“This study should be interpreted with caution, as emulated target trials are as susceptible to confounding by indication bias as traditional observational epidemiology studies. This means that there is a possibility that the results they have observed are actually due to the underlying reason people are prescribed these glucose-lowering medications in the first place, rather than the medication itself. More robust study designs, which overcome this very important limitation, are needed before such conclusions can be made.”
Prof Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oxford, said:
“For me, these new retrospective analyses suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists, particularly semaglutide, might reduce the risk of developing dementia in people with type 2 diabetes. But we need data from prospective trials to provide stronger evidence.
“The wider question of whether such drugs might also be protective against dementia in people who don’t have diabetes is a really intriguing one, and the focus of several ongoing clinical trials.”
Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, Open University, said:
“I’ll restrict myself to pointing out a few things about these two studies, which may well all be obvious. I’m writing as a statistician and did not spot any important statistical flaws – but I can’t comment on non-statistical aspects.
“Both studies are only in people who already had type 2 diabetes. I believe there’s been wider interest in whether GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs (GLP-1RAs), such as semaglutide (e.g. Ozempic or Wegovy) might reduce dementia risk, in people who are taking them for other reasons than having diabetes. These studies can’t directly tell us anything about that – though the wider context discussed in the linked editorial by Dr Diana Thiara does make some points about the wider context. That editorial is definitely worth reading to make sense of all this, in my view.
“At first sight it might look like a sort of contradiction that one1 of the studies (Tang et al.) found evidence of a decreased risk of certain dementias in people with type 2 diabetes taking either GLP-1RAs or drugs of another class (SGLT2is) used to lower glucose in people with type 2 diabetes, compared to people with type 2 diabetes taking other glucose-lowering drugs, while the other2 study (Seminer et al.) found no evidence that passed the usual statistical criteria that people with type 2 diabetes taking any of GLP-1RAs, SGLT2is, or another drug called pioglitazone did reduce all-cause dementia. It looks as if one is saying that, in people with type 2 diabetes, taking GLP-1RAs and SGLT2is is associated with reduced dementia risk, and the other is saying that it isn’t associated with reduced dementia risk. But there’s no contradiction, for the following reasons:
The Tang study1 has quite a complicated type of study design (target trial emulation), but that’s still a type of observational study and so cannot completely rule out the possibility that the differences it found in dementia risk are actually caused by something other than the drugs being taken. The Seminer study2 is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials so doesn’t carry the same bias issues about cause and effect.
The comparator (control) treatments were different in the two studies. In the Tang study1, patients taking either GLP-1RAs or SGLT2is were compared with patients taking a different glucose-reducing drug. In the Seminer study2, patients taking the drugs were compared, in each of the RCTs they considered, with patients taking a placebo (that is, something with no active ingredients that otherwise is just like that drug under trial), so not a drug at all.
The two studies were considering different outcome measures. The Tang study1 considered only Alzheimer’s dementia and related dementias. The Seminer study2 included, as its primary outcome, dementia (of any type) or cognitive impairment.
“Therefore the two studies differ in terms of the treatments involved (taking the comparator, control, treatment into account), the type of study design, and the risk of bias. So direct comparison of their findings doesn’t make as much sense as you might think at first. Again, the Thiara editorial makes this all clearer, I think.
“Despite the overall finding of the Seminer2 meta-analysis that the three drug classes that it considered weren’t associated with a reduction in overall risk of dementia or cognitive impairment, on average, compared to controls taking a placebo, they found that GLP-1RAs (considered on their own, leaving out the other drug classes) were associated with a reduction in dementia risk.
“Tang found overall no difference between the risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias between type 2 diabetes patients taking GLP-1RAs or SGLT2is, but it did find a lower risk in patients taking semaglutide compared to patients taking SGLT2is.
“Though both studies involved large numbers of patients overall, the number of patients who actually had a dementia diagnosis was pretty low, particularly for newer drugs, and the follow-up time was short, given how long it can take for dementias to develop. This is quite a big limitation.”
Dr Richard Oakley, Director of Research and Innovation, Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“Last year, the Lancet Commission in Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care – funded by Alzheimer’s Society – highlighted diabetes as one of 14 risk factors for dementia.
“Drugs that lower blood glucose are often used as part of diabetes treatment, and research has shown they might also be effective in reducing dementia risk.
“Whilst both of these studies found a link between GLP-1RAs and reduced dementia risk, only one found SGLT2is, another class of diabetes drug, were also associated with a reduced risk. More research is needed to properly understand how diabetes treatments may lower the risk of dementia, by tracking people for longer, especially as they get older.
“Alzheimer’s Society is interested to hear results from ongoing clinical trials of the GLP-1RA drug semaglutide for people with early Alzheimer’s disease, to learn whether these drugs can slow the course of the disease.”
Comments on just the Tang et al study:
Dr Leah Mursaleen, Head of Clinical Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“This study1 used health records from nearly 400,000 people who had type 2 diabetes who were taking drugs called SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1RAs to control their condition. These drugs are usually taken to lower blood sugar levels in diabetes. The researchers compared these drugs with other standard medications used to manage diabetes to evaluate the risk of developing dementia.
“People who were taking the SGLT-2 inhibitors or GLP-1RA medications appeared to have a decreased risk of developing dementia compared with those taking other diabetes medicines.
“The results from this study support the growing evidence that GLP-1RA and SGLT-2 inhibitors medicines may be linked with a lower risk of developing dementia. We don’t know yet why these medicines may be protective, and will need more research to understand how they are affecting the brain.
“Clinical trials are already looking at the use of these types of drugs, including the EVOKE study, which is testing semaglutide (Ozempic) as a potential treatment for people with early Alzheimer’s.
“While the findings of this study are interesting, it’s important to consider whether any other factors might be influencing the results such as the severity of type 2 diabetes, health, income, and education.”
1: ‘GLP-1RA and SGLT2i Medications for Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias’ byHuilin Tanget al.was published in JAMA Neurology at 16:00 UK time on Monday 7 April 2025.
DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.0353
2: ‘Cardioprotective Glucose-Lowering Agents and Dementia Risk A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’ byAllie Semineret al.was published in JAMA Neurology at 16:00 UK time on Monday 7 April 2025.
DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.0360
Declared interests
Prof Atticus Hainsworth: “I lead the Vascular Experimental Medicine team within DementiasPlatformUK:
Prof Mark Evans: “I have received personal fees from Medtronic, Ypsomed, Dexcom, Abbott, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Zucara, Pila Pharma and research support from NovoNordisk, this includes a current PhD student who is funded by Novo Nordisk to examine the mechanisms underpinning the relationship between diabetes/ metabolic disease and dementia but does not include examining the effects of therapies. Abbott, Eli Lilly, Sanofi. The University of Cambridge has received salary support for MLE from the National Health Service in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve.”
Prof David Strain: “I have received speaker fees from AstraZeneca (dapagliflozin) and Novo Nordisk (semaglutide). I lead the UK Stakeholders consensus document for the management of diabetes in older adults which the current UK guidelines are based.”
Prof Naveed Sattar “Has consulted for several companies that make diabetes medicines but also contributed to several lifestyle trials.
“For Novo Nordisk: have consulted for company in advisory boards but not on any of their weight loss drug trial committees; am on steering committee for ZEUS trial but this is not a weight loss trial product but anti-inflammatory. Do not have any shares either for any product in health etc.
“N.S. declares consulting fees and/or speaker honoraria from Abbott Laboratories, Afimmune, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Sanofi; and grant support paid to his university from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, and Roche Diagnostics.”
Dr Ivan Koychev: “IK has received speaker fees as well as an investigator initiated grant to explore the effects of semaglutide in people at risk for dementia from Novo Nordisk.”
Prof Tara Spires-Jones: “I have no conflicts with this study but have received payments for consulting, scientific talks, or collaborative research over the past 10 years from AbbVie, Sanofi, Merck, Scottish Brain Sciences, Jay Therapeutics, Cognition Therapeutics, Ono, and Eisai. I am also Charity trustee for the British Neuroscience Association and the Guarantors of Brain and serve as scientific advisor to several charities and non-profit institutions.”
Dr Emma Anderson: “I have no conflicts of interest.”
Prof Masud Husain: “I don’t have any conflicts of interest.”
Prof Kevin McConway: “Previously a Trustee of the SMC and a member of its Advisory Committee.”
Dr Richard Oakley: “No conflicts of interest to declare from Richard or the Society.”
Dr Leah Mursaleen: “Leah has no conflicts of interest to declare.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Prime Minister turbocharges medical research
Better and faster access to NHS data for researchers with gold standard security and privacy measures.
Latest in a series of pro-growth measures to build a strong, resilient economy with more well-paid jobs.
Changes will help make Britain the best country in the world for medical research, driving growth that puts more money in people’s pockets as part of the Plan for Change.
Next step in delivering the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy and unlocking the potential of the Oxford‑Cambridge Growth Corridor.
The Prime Minister has today announced action to accelerate the discovery of life-saving drugs, improve patient care and make Britain the best place in the world for medical research.
The Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service. This will transform the access to NHS data by providing a secure single access point to national-scale datasets, slashing red tape for researchers.
Clinical trials will also be fast-tracked to accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, with the current time it takes to get a clinical trial set up cut to 150 days by March 2026 – where latest data collected in 2022 was over 250 days. This will be achieved by cutting bureaucracy and standardising contracts so time isn’t wasted on negotiating separate details across different NHS organisations, and ensuring transparency by publishing trust level data for the first time.
Through this new drive, patients will have improved access to new treatments and technologies. We already saw the power of health data during the pandemic and this will allow the NHS to make huge strides in patient care.
The changes are a major boost for the life sciences sector as the Government goes further and faster in delivering the Plan for Change and reshaping our economy in response to the new era of global insecurity.
They follow key steps to support the British car industry and form part of our modern Industrial Strategy, which includes life sciences. Full plans will be published alongside the Spending Review later this year.
Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said:
The new era of global insecurity requires a Government that steps up, not stands aside.
That is why we are going further and faster in reshaping our economy and delivering our Plan for Change.
Life sciences, like our brilliant car industry, is a great British success story.
The measures I am announcing today will turbo-charge medical research and deliver better patient care. I am determined to make Britain the best place in the world to invest in medical research.
That is not just good for patients and their families. It means growth that puts more money in working people’s pockets with more, better paid jobs.
Patient confidentiality will continue to be held to a gold standard with these changes – with rigorous security measures being in place, like anonymity and virtual locked rooms, to ensure no one’s health data is compromised.
The Health Data Research Service brings access to data for medical research into one secure and easy-to-use location, meaning a researcher doesn’t have to navigate different systems or make multiple applications for information for the same project.
This improvement – which will begin from the end of 2026 – will speed up the process and could set the UK on a path to cure cancer, dementia, and arthritis quicker, which will improve patient outcomes and help turbocharge the economy.
It follows the recent decision to scrap NHS England to do away with unnecessary bureaucracy and make government work better for people, patients, and the economy.
The new service will be housed at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire, where Wellcome is building a range of new R&D lab and office spaces to expand the current campus’s capacity for innovative genomics and biodata companies.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:
Our Plan for Change will unleash the unparalleled power of NHS data, catalysing our efforts to fix the broken health service.
We will unblock the barriers preventing our greatest scientists from safely accessing what they need to save patients’ lives – while keeping data secure.
This venture will drive vital investment into the UK and put us at the epicentre of breakthroughs in science.
If we can combine the care of the NHS with the ingenuity of our world-leading scientists, our health service could truly become the envy of the world.
Science Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:
Building an NHS fit for the future is central to this government’s Plan for Change. Ensuring our research community can access the data which will drive untold improvements for patients across the country is key to that ambition.
This is a service which has truly transformative potential – giving health experts access to the insights they need to drive forward more research and more clinical trials quicker than ever before.
Protecting the data and anonymity of patients is non-negotiable. That’s why we’re also putting robust protections in place to make sure the incredible benefits we will all receive from this service will never come at a personal cost.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said:
Improving health for future patients and future generations depends on medical research, and that depends on data.
Bringing health data together will allow scientists to understand diseases, to prevent them and to develop new treatments more quickly and more effectively to improve future health.
John-Arne Røttingen, Chief Executive of Wellcome, said:
There is so much more we could learn from health data in this country by joining it up better.
The new service will give researchers a way to easily harness the data held across different parts of the NHS. The simpler it is to analyse data or identify patients to join clinical trials, the more quickly we can improve our understanding of illness and develop new treatments.
Providing a single, secure service for approved researchers will take away the significant overhead associated of locating, accessing and comparing disparate datasets. It will create opportunities for patients to access new treatments through trials that would otherwise have been hard to arrange or conduct.
We’re pleased to be providing our support to help establish the new service quickly. This public-philanthropic partnership will put public trust in the use of health data at the heart of its approach.
Dr Vin Diwakar, National Director of Transformation at NHS England, said:
We’ve seen over the past few years the vital role that research plays in improving healthcare – from the rollout of the Covid vaccine to the development of new cancer treatments – and this new service will transform how that research is carried out.
The Health Data Research Service will remove the complexities of accessing data through multiple systems while making sure the very highest security and privacy measures remain in place, including using secure data environments to protect patient confidentiality and ensure NHS data doesn’t leave NHS IT systems.
We’ll continue to seek feedback from the public as we develop the service and will only allow access to NHS data where there is likely to be a direct benefit to NHS patients – so that health researchers can get the data they need faster, and patients can benefit from advances in treatments much sooner.
Executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, Dr Ian Walker, said:
This is a welcome and much-needed investment from the government. The information held within NHS data could help to improve our understanding of diseases like cancer and contribute to the creation of effective new treatments.
Despite its huge potential, access to this data has long been a significant challenge for the research sector, and anything that unleashes the power of NHS data, whilst protecting the security and anonymity of patients, will help enormously.
The UK can lead the world in data science for the benefits of patients both at home and abroad. It will be essential to consult with patients every step of the way.
STAKEHOLDER REACTION
Professor Cathie Sudlow, Former Chief Scientist and Strategic Advisor, Health Data Research UK, and author of the Sudlow Review: Uniting the UK’s Health Data: A Huge Opportunity for Society, said:
Today’s announcement of a Health Data Research Service, a central recommendation of my recently published review of the UK’s health data landscape, is a major step forward for UK health research. It has the potential to be a game-changer, by accelerating secure, trustworthy, data-driven research to improve patient care and public health for the tens of millions of people in this country and beyond.
The service should enable faster, more reliable access for approved researchers to the data needed to tackle society’s most pressing health research needs – to develop and test new approaches for preventing, diagnosing and treating health conditions such as cancer, dementia, heart disease, depression, arthritis and infectious outbreaks. It should support better studies, quicker answers for the health and care system and, ultimately, faster, better outcomes for patients and their families.
Turning this investment from the UK Government and Wellcome into something that delivers will demand focus, cooperation across multiple organisations, attention to detail and – crucially – ongoing, meaningful involvement of patients, public and health and care professionals. However, with the UK’s rich health data assets and strong life sciences and data science research capabilities, I am confident that we can make this work for everyone’s benefit.
Nicola Perrin, Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities, said:
The announcement of a Health Data Research Service is excellent news – for patients, for the NHS and for UK life sciences. Sustained, ringfenced funding – from the Government and Wellcome as a charitable funder – is the best way to unlock the power of NHS data to transform research and to improve health outcomes.
This partnership is exactly what is needed to help to ensure a trustworthy approach, and to build confidence among public, patients and healthcare professionals which will be so crucial for success. We look forward to engaging closely with the new HRDS as the plans develop, building on and consolidating the multiple initiatives that currently exist for data access.
Dame Cally Palmer, Chief Executive of The Royal Marsden, said:
I’ve seen first-hand how harnessing NHS data can accelerate and improve cancer research – so today’s news is hugely welcome for cancer patients and researchers alike.
By offering our world leading researchers a centralised, convenient and highly secure central hub for medical research, innovative and potentially life changing developments could become more likely, helping to transform cancer patient lives.
Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer, GSK, said:
We welcome the ambition and urgency of today’s announcements on health data and clinical trials. The UK has unique potential to bring health data securely together with an NHS system that recognises the value of innovation, to accelerate and deliver the next generation of medicines and vaccines for patients. This offers value to society and to the economy. What matters now is execution at pace and we stand ready to support.
Hilary Evans-Newton, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
This is a game-changing initiative that could drive faster progress for people with dementia and bring us closer to a cure. Better access to high-quality NHS data will help researchers understand the diseases behind dementia in greater detail, spot those at risk sooner, and develop effective new treatments more quickly.
The UK is home to some of the most detailed, nationwide, life-long health datasets in the world, with huge potential to transform how we prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat major health conditions. But right now, researchers face barriers that stop them unlocking this data’s full, life-saving power. By cutting red tape around data access and clinical trials, the UK can accelerate the development of new diagnostics and treatments, and become a magnet for global investment. Dementia is the nation’s biggest killer, and with no treatments currently available on the NHS that slow or stop the condition, this momentum couldn’t come at a more urgent time.
To make the new Health Data Research Service work, people affected by dementia must be at the heart of how the system is designed. With the right safeguards in place, trusted access to NHS data can be a powerful force for good – helping the UK lead the world in life sciences and transform the outlook for everyone affected by dementia in the UK.
Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Innovation at Asthma + Lung UK, said:
The new health data service has the potential to make a huge difference to the health of the nation. Improved access to such a wealth of data is fantastic news for health research, and will help researchers better understand lung disease, which will affect 12 million people in the UK during their lifetime.
Decades-long underinvestment has left lung research on life support. But this new investment into data will help scientists better understand early development and progression of lung disease, ultimately leading to better diagnosis, treatment and management.
Every five minutes, someone in the UK dies a from lung condition. Urgent action is needed to increase investment into lung research to give everyone fighting for breath a future. Because breakthroughs can happen and when they do, they save lives. Our vision is a world where everyone has healthy lungs.
Professor James Leiper, Director of Research at the British Heart Foundation, said:
This investment in the huge potential of data science is a welcome and farsighted move.
Health data has the power to give us unparalleled insights into cardiovascular disease, and will supercharge research which promises to save lives in the years to come.
Ensuring cardiovascular researchers have simplified access to the wealth of data the NHS holds, while also ensuring security and patient confidentiality, will place the UK at the cutting edge of data science for health. We look forward to hearing further detail on plans in the coming months.
Jacob Lant, Chief Executive at National Voices, said:
As patients, our health records can fuel a revolution in medical research that will both help the NHS and ensure communities across the country get faster access to groundbreaking new treatments.
The Government’s new partnership with the Wellcome Trust can unlock this potential by offering scientists easier access to data, but crucially also giving the public concrete guarantees around data security and anonymity. This is vital to building the public trust needed to move forward and realise the full benefits of modern medical research.
Dr. Sam Barrell, CEO of LifeArc, said:
Rapid, transparent, and secure access to high-quality linked health data is essential for translation of research into tangible patient benefit. This is especially crucial for those with rare diseases, where large-scale data and international collaboration are vital.
Today’s funding announcement is a welcome signal to the sector that the UK is committed to making life science life changing, powered by health data.
Kieran Winterburn, Alzheimer’s Society’s Head of National Influencing, said:
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. Research will beat dementia, but we need to make it a reality sooner – through more funding, more partnership working, better access to data and more people taking part in dementia research.
That’s why Alzheimer’s Society welcomes the Prime Minister’s announcement today that red tape will be slashed for researchers, with a new secure, single access point to NHS data. Dementia researchers can face gridlock with a lengthy and complex process to access NHS data, navigating through various systems to gather the information they need for vital population and clinical studies.
As well as improving access to existing data, we also need to see improvements in the recording, analysis and collation of health data generally. There’s a serious disconnect between the scale and urgency of dementia as a condition and the relative scarcity of existing data on it. Having more data on dementia published will be crucial to improving diagnosis, care, and service planning.
We’re so proud that Alzheimer’s Society-funded research 30 years ago led to the breakthroughs in disease-modifying treatments we’ve seen recently. Research we fund now, powered by better access to data, will be pivotal in unlocking more breakthroughs.
Dr Jeanette Dickson, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said:
We know the UK can deliver high quality international practice-changing research and this tremendous initiative will enable our scientists to perform at their best by providing safe access to essential data – which in turn will improve care, speed up innovation and drive economic growth.
Anna Steere, Head of Understanding Patient Data, said:
This is a really welcome step toward improving how health data is used to speed up research and deliver public benefit. Research shows that people are generally supportive of their data being used in this way — but they want to see transparency, strong governance and security at the heart. We are pleased to see a commitment to working with patient groups in shaping how the service is designed and run. Getting this right from the outset is key to building lasting public confidence.
Professor Ford is also the Co-Founder and Director of the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank in Wales, said:
I am really delighted to hear of this recent announcement, which will bring a very substantial and much needed investment into the UK’s data infrastructure. The SAIL Databank looks forward to playing its part in making the new exciting vision a reality.
The National Data Guardian, Dr Nicola Byrne, said:
Access to data is essential for researchers and innovators to transform great ideas into real health improvements. With the right safeguards in place, the public is eager to see data used to drive new treatments, improve services, and tackle health inequalities.
To maintain the public’s trust, it’s crucial that data security, clear public benefits, and full transparency around data access and use remain at the forefront. I look forward to working with others to ensure the new Health Data Research Service meets these expectations, unlocking the power of data to benefit patients and the public alike.
Professor Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research UK, said:
As a doctor and researcher, the announcement of a Health Data Research Service is a day many of us have been waiting for. It is a big investment in the future health of the nation.
We have a rich abundance of health data in this country thanks to the NHS. The team at HDR UK demonstrated for the first time last year that UK wide studies harnessing data on 68M people is possible for public benefit. But the system remains slow and fragmented which means that safe and secure research using the data is delayed or prevented for months and years. This is stalling advances that could benefit millions of patients and is wasting taxpayers’ money and medical charity donations invested in research.
A Health Data Research Service was the main recommendation of the Sudlow Review, which offered a set of solutions to tackle these problems and for which Health Data Research UK provided the secretariat. So I am delighted that within a few months of publication.
Ending Violence against Women and Girls Conference Armagh City Hotel Armagh 31 March 2025 CREDIT: LiamMcArdle.com
“Violence against women and girls is a very serious challenge in our society – and one that affects everyone. It is a problem that is hidden in plain sight and every day impacts the lives of women and girls, in our schools, in our communities, and in our workplaces.
“Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council stand committed to challenging harmful attitudes towards women and girls, and to work to promote a culture of respect and equality. To create a community where women and girls are safe, respected, and empowered. So that every woman and girl can live with dignity, safety and freedom.”
This was the message from the Deputy Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Kyle Savage at a recent, hard-hitting conference addressing the serious issue of ending violence against women and girls.
Entitled ‘It’s In Your Hands’, the conference had around 200 attendees and featured a number of high profile speakers who covered topics including coercive control, partner violence, what a healthy relationship should look like and how we can educate everyone in our communities to prevent abuse and harm against women and girls.
There were also interactive sessions where those in attendance could really think about the impact that they can make – as individuals and organisations – to help make the borough a safer place for women and girls.
Speakers included Dr Ngozi Anyadike-Danes, a Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Ulster University, Marcella Leonard MBE and Noel McNally who bravely spoke about his daughter Natalie.
This event was organised by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and funded by The Executive Office.
For more information on this issue please log onto https://www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/safeguarding/
The Scottish Government’s Housing Bill amendments do not go far enough in tackling sky high rents or supporting tenants, say the Scottish Greens.
The comments, from Green MSP Maggie Chapman, come as the government has published amendments to the upcoming Housing Bill that would allow rent increases to the level of the CPI annual rate of inflation plus 1%, up to a maximum increase of 6% in rent control areas.
There are no plans in place to provide protection for tenants since the government allowed protections introduced by the Scottish Greens to expire last week.
Ms Chapman said:
“The Housing Bill can and must be the biggest extension of renters rights since devolution, and should finally end the grip that the landlord lobby has on the rights and wellbeing of tenants.
“That is what was at the heart of the Bill that Patrick Harvie introduced when he was a Green Minister.
“I don’t believe that what the government is proposing goes far enough. It certainly doesn’t live up to the scale of the crisis that far too many are facing. They would see above inflation hikes even in areas where rents and living costs have been allowed to spiral out of control.
“We will be publishing proposals in the days ahead that will take a very different approach and will offer support and stability to people and families on the frontline of the housing emergency.
“Homes are for living in and not for squeezing every last penny of profit from. Everyone deserves a warm, comfortable and affordable place to call home, and it is crucial that the Housing Bill delivers that.”
Last week the Scottish Government allowed renter protections introduced by the Scottish Greens to expire, removing an effective cap on the worst rent hikes.
Ms Chapman added:
“By allowing renter protections to expire the Scottish Government has thrown people to the mercy of a broken market and rogue landlords who have proven that they cannot be trusted.
“There are few things that create as much anxiety and poverty as rip-off rents. Our parliament and our government needs to lead the way and make Scotland the best country it can be for renters rights.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Welsh food and drink delicacies earn protected status
Welsh gin, oysters and honey granted protected status under UK Geographical Indication schemes
Welsh gin, oysters and honey are to join the list of food and drink products granted protected geographical indication (PGI) status under the UK’s Geographical Indication schemes.
Dovey Native Botanical Gin, Pembrokeshire Native Oysters, Pembrokeshire Rock Oysters and Welsh Heather Honey have been formally recognised for their distinctive qualities and regional heritage, ensuring only authentic items meeting strict production standards and geographical requirements can be marketed under these protected names.
Welsh culinary tradition dates back centuries, with its food and drink deeply rooted in the nation’s landscape, culture, and history. From nutrient-rich waters producing exceptional seafood to vibrant heather moorlands ideal for honey production, Welsh producers have long crafted distinctive products shaped by local environments and passed-down expertise.
This recognition gives producers a valuable market advantage while preserving traditional production methods, protecting and championing local products while creating economic opportunity across all parts of the UK under the Government’s Plan for Change.
UK Government Minister for Food Security, Farming and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner said:
The UK is home to a feast of flavours from every corner of the British Isles, and these new protections help celebrate the outstanding craftsmanship and heritage behind Welsh food and drink.
By giving these products unique status, we’re helping local businesses grow while ensuring consumers can enjoy authentic regional specialities for generations to come.
These additions join other popular Welsh products already recognised under the GI scheme, including Anglesey Sea Salt, Welsh Leeks, Traditional Welsh Cider and Single-malt Welsh Whisky, showcasing the rich culinary heritage of Wales.
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:
Dovey gin, Pembrokeshire oysters and Welsh honey are fantastic products and it’s right that they are being recognised as the high-quality, specialist items they are.
The GI scheme guarantees quality and excellence while celebrating our outstanding local Welsh produce and driving growth in this vital sector.
Wales’ Deputy First Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, who has responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, said:
This recognition strengthens Wales’ growing family of protected foods, showcases the extraordinary quality of our produce, and reflects our commitment to high-quality, sustainable food production.
From the mountains to the coast, Wales produces some of the UK’s most iconic foods, cultivated with care and tradition. Each GI product tells the story of our landscape, our producers’ expertise and our proud culinary heritage.
With these new registrations, the total number of UK GIs now reaches 97, representing premium produce from across all four nations of the United Kingdom.
The GI schemes support UK food and drink businesses by protecting the reputation of regional products, promoting traditional and agricultural activity while boosting growth in local economies.
Danny Cameron of Dovey Native Botanical Gin said:
Having GI Status is a good thing and helps to raise awareness of Botanical gin being provenance-based and produced to such a strict and high quality.
Gruffydd Rees of Gwenyn Gruffydd Ltd in Carmarthenshire said:
I am delighted that Welsh Heather Honey’s precise origin and characteristics have been recognised. The UK GI application process is long, and it is wonderful that Wales is the first UK nation to have a honey receive PGI status.
Jake Davies, Atlantic Edge Oysters, said:
Having a PGI Status will attract a broader audience and market who are more aware of GI products and will allow us to join the GI family which has a number of fantastic products.
Can your accent make you sound aggressive? Exeter City football manager Gary Caldwell thinks so – he blamed his Scottish accent for his being sent off the pitch for the second time this season.
After receiving a red card for his reaction after a late goal was disallowed for handball, Caldwell said: “I didn’t swear, I didn’t run, in my opinion I wasn’t aggressive. My accent and my Scottishness is aggressive, but yeah, I got sent off for that.”
Caldwell is not the first to feel his Scottish accent has led to him being treated unfairly. Scottish comedian Fern Brady described herself as “an intelligent woman trapped in a Scottish accent”. She says she became most aware of her accent when she moved to southern England and she felt people looked at her as if “a dog was barking at them”.
There are, of course, many different Scottish accents, even if previous research has found that English people tend to be very bad at identifying them as anything more precise than “Scottish”. But there is a stereotype that Scottish accents sound aggressive or at least tough.
It is no coincidence that swamp-dwelling Shrek has a Scottish accent. Producers can use an accent as shorthand to tell us the sort of person (or ogre) that a character is, in this case that Shrek is hardy and grouchy, but also warm and salt of the earth.
Many presume that Scottish accents sound harsh or, as they are often unfortunately characterised, gruff because of some inherent property: the throaty, fricative sound in loch, the striking glottal stop for “t” as in Fern Brady’s pronunciation of Scottish and the audible r’s in words like car.
None of these pronunciations are unique to Scottish accents. But you would certainly not hear them in standard southern British English, an accent rooted in south-east England which many perceive as prestigious or neutral.
In reality, the way we feel about an accent tells us less about its integral properties and much more about the stereotypes of the people who speak it.
In my research I have found that in south-east England, when reading aloud the same sentence, lower-working-class people were judged to be on average 14% less intelligent, 4% less friendly and 5% less trustworthy than upper-middle-class people.
People from ethnic minority backgrounds were evaluated as 5% less intelligent than white people, regardless of class. Accent prejudice is actually a smokescreen for other forms of prejudice.
The consequences of accent prejudice
We have no way of knowing, but perhaps if Caldwell spoke standard southern British English, he could have protested the disallowed goal without being sent off.
But – sorry, football fans – the decisions made based on a person’s accent can have much graver consequences than what team wins a match. A person’s accent can advantage or disadvantage them in several ways, including in job recruitment and the criminal justice system.
Research has found that speakers of standard southern British English are seen as more suitable candidates in mock job interviews to be a trainee solicitor than those who speak either multicultural London English or estuary English (both working-class southern accents).
They are also seen as less likely to commit various crimes, particularly compared to people from Liverpool or Bradford.
It is no coincidence that speakers of standard southern British English tend to be unscathed by accent bias. Research spanning 50 years has found that it is the British accent judged most favourably, especially as being prestigious. In contrast, the accents of urban industrialised areas in Britain tend to receive the harshest evaluations.
It is true that regional accents are sometimes (though not always) seen as chummy. But regional accents generally do not lead to a person being seen as competent, astute or like the people who you would want to run your business or your country – even if they would be a right laugh at the Christmas party.
Gender can also play a role in accent perception. If a female football manager – though there are currently none in English men’s professional football – with a Scottish accent had protested a referee’s decision, she would likely fare even worse than Caldwell. Women who speak with regional accents tend to be judged more harshly and labelled with more negative character traits than men.
For example, a 2020 study by linguist Roy Alderton found gender differences in how teenagers in southern England were judged based on their accent.
Regardless of gender, the teenagers with high rates of glottal stops in place of “t” were judged as sounding chavvy – a pejorative used to label someone thought to have low education and social class. The girl with high rates of glottal stops was additionally judged as annoying and uneducated, while the boy was thought to sound like a lad – not the most crushing insult for a teenage boy.
When a person is treated a certain way because of their accent, they are actually being treated this way because of their race, class, gender, where they are from or something else fundamental to who they are.
Caldwell suggested he needs to become more “Englified” because of the way he is judged based on his Scottish accent. Of course, that is not something he should have to do. No-one should have to change their accent and forsake who they are.
Instead, we should challenge in ourselves and others the judgements and decisions we make based on a person’s accent – what linguists call accentism. Acknowledging and tackling accentism is one part of creating a level playing field in football and all other walks of life.
Amanda Cole is affiliated with The Accentism Project which she runs along with Dr Rob Drummond to raise awareness and challenge accentism.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Government and industry to train up ‘clean power army’
Government and industry to train up ‘clean power army’ of apprentice engineers, welders, and technicians.
Clean energy sector to create thousands of new apprenticeships as part of Plan for Change
Energy Secretary tells industry forum that a clean power army of engineers, welders and technicians will be required to deliver clean power by 2030, and that government will work with industry to build it, with Regional Skills Pilots in Aberdeen, Cheshire, Lincolnshire, and Pembrokeshire
Work and Pensions Secretary says the government will “give this generation the tools they need to seize the opportunity that is the clean energy transition”
Young people will be trained to fill thousands of clean energy jobs and apprenticeships needed to deliver clean power by 2030 as part of the government’s Plan for Change to get Britain working and unlock growth.
The Energy Secretary has told industry, unions and trade bodies that the government will work with them to build a clean power army to hit ambitious targets for clean power by 2030 at a forum convened with the Work and Pensions Secretary today (Monday 7 April 2025).
The transition to clean power will create thousands of opportunities across the sector, from renewables to upgrading the UK’s grid infrastructure.
National Grid alone plans to support around 55,000 more jobs by the end of the decade and SSE Transmission plans are supporting a further 37,000 jobs, 17,500 of which would be in Scotland. Scottish Power’s SP Energy Networks plans to double its transmission workforce to create around 1,400 jobs and support a further 11,000 jobs across the UK – with all 3 plans subject to approvals by the regulator.
The government is driving forward with Regional Skills Pilot in the clean energy sector. Aberdeen, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire have all been identified as key growth regions for clean energy. Local partners will receive funding to identify the skills support that is needed in their area to deliver clean power by 2030, which will protect households and businesses from unstable fossil fuel markets for good.
Funding could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers – supporting local people into opportunities in industries such as welding, electrical engineering, and construction.
The government is wasting no time in investing in good jobs for British industries, including thousands of new, skilled jobs being supported in the North East of England as contracts for the first carbon capture, usage and storage were signed in December, following a £21.7 billion commitment from the government to ensure the UK’s vision for CCUS becomes a reality. The government has also invested £55 million for port of Cromarty, to transform it into a major hub for the UK’s world-leading floating offshore wind industry, creating hundreds of skilled jobs and generating growth.
The latest CBI Economics figures show jobs supported by net zero sectors increased by 10% last year, with the average annual wage across the sector at £43,000 – £5,600 higher than the national average.
The push to support more clean energy jobs comes as the government delivers the most ambitious reforms of the UK’s energy system in a generation and record investment into homegrown clean energy projects.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:
The energy sector has always been a source of good, skilled, and unionised jobs for young people across the UK, providing secure, well-paid employment for life.
To meet our target to reach clean power by 2030, we need a clean power army of engineers, welders and technicians – giving thousands of young people the opportunity to play a vital role in tackling the climate crisis, increasing our energy security and boosting the economy to deliver our Plan for Change.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said:
With almost a million young people neither earning nor learning it is vital that we give this generation the tools they need to seize the opportunity that is the clean energy transition.
Our plan to Get Britian Working will overhaul employment support, giving everyone the tools and skills they need to and build a stronger, more prosperous future for them and their families.
The government launched its Get Britain Working white paper late last year, outlining the biggest employment reforms in a generation and boost employment including reforming Jobcentres to create a genuinely public employment service so everyone can get personalised skills and employment support, as well as a Youth Guarantee ensuring every young person has the chance to earn or learn. Alongside government work to drive up employment and opportunities, the renewable sector will also continue to turbocharge the economy.
The government is working closely with employers to train up Britain’s young people to seize clean energy opportunities. Trade unions will also have an essential role in building the UK’s skilled energy workforce, with the government determined to drive world-class pay, terms, and conditions in the clean energy sector. The government is already driving better access and conditions for unions in the energy sector- since July EDF Renewables UK and Ireland have signed one of the first renewables industry recognition agreements with Prospect, Unite, GMB and UNISON.
The government has also launched Skills England and the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to bring together key partners to meet the skills needs of the next decade across all regions.
Opportunities are already being created through a number of schemes and initiatives to deliver training and skills for apprentices and workers transitioning from the fossil fuel sector, including innovative schemes such as the:
Skills Passport: This supports oil and gas workers to identify routes into several roles in offshore wind including construction and maintenance
Your Apprenticeship app: A new app designed by the government with extensive input from apprentices to provide easier access to essential tools, resources, and support to help apprentices to thrive in their qualification
Whilst driving up employment and opportunities, the renewable sector will also continue to turbocharge the economy.
CBI Economics analysis commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows that the net zero sector already contributes £83 billion annually to the UK economy, with further investment into projects predicted to grow this even further.
Government research has also revealed the extent in which apprenticeships can help drive this growth, with apprentices in England across the economy estimated to create £25 billion of economic growth over their lifetime.
Through investment and initiatives, the government will help build the pipeline of skilled workers needed to deliver clean power by 2030, which will unlock £40 billion of investment a year and reindustrialise Britain with thousands of good jobs across the country. This underscores the government’s commitment to deliver a jobs-rich clean energy transition, putting communities and trade unions at the heart of the UK’s clean energy future.
Notes to editors
Skills is a devolved policy area, and therefore the remit of Skills England and the Your Apprenticeship App will only cover England. However, Skills England will assess skills needs across the whole of the UK and DESNZ is working closely with the devolved governments on ensuring we have the skilled workforce for the clean energy transition, including through the Regional Skills Pilots.
The RIIO T3 business plans for the UK’s 3 electricity transmission companies are all subject to approval by the energy regulator Ofgem.
The University of Connecticut and University of Rhode Island (URI) were jointly awarded a 5-year contract from General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) to provide regional workforce development support to the Maritime Industrial Base.
The ANCHOR (Advancing Naval Careers through Higher-ed Outreach and Research) grant was celebrated in a launch event at UConn Avery Point on April 3. Representatives from UConn, URI, GDEB, and local and state governments were present to support the extensive program.
The contract will support ongoing activities and drastically expand the work of the UConn-URI Navy STEM Coalition, which, since 2017, has developed a K-16 pipeline across southern New England to encourage both the skilled trades and engineering careers needed to build submarines.
The UConn-URI Navy STEM Coalition was established in 2017 through the leadership of Michael Accorsi at UConn and David Taggart at URI via funding from the Office of Naval Research. In 2021, the program was expanded under the current leadership of Alexandra Hain at UConn and Valerie Maier-Speredelozzi at URI, through a grant from the DoDSTEM National Defense Education Program. Hain and Maier-Speredelozzi will continue as the institutional leads of the contract.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, whose Congressional district includes southeastern Connecticut, also attended Thursday.
UConn Engineering Dean JC Zhao addresses the audience. (Matthew Hodgkins/UConn Photo).
“There’s no question that shipyard workloads’ are going to continue well into the 2040s,” Courtney said. “That means the people that are going to be working the yards are in grade schools today… That’s really what is the genius about this whole initiative. It’s to get undergraduate engineering students into young classrooms, because that’s really where the magic is.”
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) was unable to attend the event, but sent his regards for the UConn-URI Navy STEM Coalition via a letter recited that evening.
UConn and URI Engineering leadership were pleased by the partnership and the renewed contract.
“By working alongside URI and General Dynamics Electric Boat, we are not only advancing naval engineering and skilled trades but also inspiring a pipeline of talent to meet the demands of this vital sector,” said UConn Engineering Dean JC Zhao. “The coalition’s efforts will have a substantial impact on southern New England and beyond, ensuring that our students and workforce are equipped to lead in submarine production and innovation for decades to come.”
“The Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island region – which includes two public flagship research universities, GDEB’s campuses in Groton and Quonset Point, and U.S. Navy operations in New London and Newport – is the undisputed global epicenter of submarine research, development and manufacturing,” said URI Engineering Dean Anthony Marchese. “For decades, UConn and URI have responded to the research and workforce development needs of our regional Maritime Industrial Base partners and we are proud to continue to fulfill that mission through the ANCHOR program.”
In the last three years, the coalition has steadily increased its presence across southern New England, engaging over 13,000 students in the fundamentals of naval science and engineering. The Navy STEM Coalition’s staff and engineering university student members have taught Connecticut and Rhode Island students the fundamentals of buoyancy, additive manufacturing, and the core trades essential to submarine production through over 75 regional classroom visits and more than 20 large-scale outreach events nationwide. The coalition has also engaged and trained dozens of teachers through programs ranging from day-long workshops to year-long residencies.
(Matthew Hodgkins/UConn Photo).
Maier-Speredelozzi said, “Inspiring undergraduates and K-12 students to pursue STEM careers is always rewarding, and we are excited to expand our outreach with K-12 teachers. When we work with teachers, we magnify the impact to include not only the students in their classes today, but also for years to come.”
Looking forward, the ANCHOR contract will enable the coalition to significantly increase activities in the region, including the development of multiple new summer programs at both campuses for K-12 students, undergraduate summer researchers, and pre-service teachers.
Thursday’s event also included the recognition of several URI and UConn students. The UConn winners included: Adeline Smith for the Naval Engineering Achievement Award, Jada Veracosa for the Navy STEM Excellence in Engineering Education Award, and Oliver MacKinnon for the Naval STEM Rising Star Award.
The URI winners included: Olivia Daniello for the Navy STEM Excellence in Education Award, Sam Miller for the Naval Engineering Achievement Award, Hope Kelley for the Naval STEM Rising Star Award, and Megan Gimple for the Naval STEM Graduate Student Award.
Regarding the growth of K-12 summer programming, Hain said, “Through targeted summer programs in engineering and skilled trades, we are committed to preparing students for careers in the submarine industrial base. By offering partial and full scholarships, along with free options, we’re dedicated to inspiring and equipping the next generation of talent, breaking down barriers to ensure that a skilled workforce is ready to meet the unique demands of submarine production and innovation.”
The coalition will also offer significant funding for those already working within the industrial base to come back to either UConn or URI for graduate school in a partnership with the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology, the premier fundamental research facility for submarine development in the region.
In expanding to support GDEB and the wider industrial base, the coalition will establish a comprehensive pipeline for submarine production from elementary education to graduate school, ensuring students in southern New England are supported in their path to building the future of the underwater fleet.
Leadership from UConn, URI, and GDEB with student award winners. (Matthew Hodgkins/UConn Photo).
“The UConn-URI Navy STEM Coalition recognizes the critical support from the ANCHOR contract, managed by General Dynamics Electric Boat and funded by the U.S. Navy through the Maritime Industrial Base Program, which enables continued investment in workforce development and STEM education,” said Erica Logan, the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base Deputy Director of Workforce.
With the United States Navy indicating that the Maritime Industrial Base will need over 150,000 new employees in the next decade to meet procurement demands, the submarine sector will be vibrant for decades to come. Once called “the Silicon Valley of undersea warfare” by former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, southern New England is set to see much of that growth, and thus is in vital need of the pipeline development GDEB and the coalition will be achieving through this partnership.
“The ANCHOR program demonstrates the power of public institutions investing in their local communities and their student body by leveraging the private sector of the Maritime Industrial Base,” said Sean Morrone, Electric Boat’s Manager of Supplier and Workforce Development. “Partnerships like this create a sustainable impact on the economic growth and community well-being of our region.”
Meeting the needs of the Maritime Industrial Base at this time requires innovative collaborations between industry, government, and academia, and the coalition is eager to continue inspiring the next generation to “build giants.”
Brandywell becomes first Peace Pitch in the League of Ireland
7 April 2025
The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium has become the first ground in the League of Ireland to receive an international designation celebrating peace and reconciliation through football. The Peace Field initiative will see the Lone Moor Road stadium twinned with Flanders Peace Field in Mesen, Belgium – the site of the First World War Christmas Truces of 1914 when German, British and Allied soldiers played games of football during a break in fighting. The Brandywell has received the designation in recognition of The Life Hack Project in the Rath Mor Centre which aims to support young people to build and develop life skills that foster good relations, build confidence and relations and make them more employable. A plaque to commemorate the twinning, stating that all games on the pitch will be played in the spirit of the 1914 Christmas truces, was presented to representatives from The Life Hack Project, Derry City and Strabane District Council and Derry City Football Club before the weekend’s League of Ireland Premier Division home game against Cork City. The plaque will be displayed in the stadium and a duplicate will be erected at the Flanders Peace Pitch in Belgium alongside 76 other Peace Fields from six different continents across the world. Mayor of Derry and Strabane Council, Cllr Lilian Seenoi Barr praised The Lifehack Project saying: “I am delighted the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium has received this international designation which pairs it with one of the most famous sports fields in world history. “It is just recognition for the key work The Life Hack Project do to improve the quality of life and employment prospects of our young people. “It also serves as a timely reminder of the reconciliatory impact sport can have by bringing people together through a shared passion for play.” Richie McRory, Lifehack Project Coordinator added: “Over the last three years young people from the Lifehack Project based in Creggan have engaged on a cross community and cross border basis with young people from a diverse range of backgrounds. “We have hosted and attended a number of football events that have encouraged inclusion, reconciliation and participation.
“Through these events we have developed a very positive relationship with Limestone United and become involved with the International Peace Field Project.
“We are very proud to receive the Peace Plaque on behalf of Derry City FC from our friends at Limestone UTD.
“We look forward to continued work and participation in the Peace Field Project.”
A spokesperson for Derry City Football Club added: “Derry City Football Club is truly honoured that the Ryan McBride Brandywell stadium has become the first in the league of Ireland to receive this international designation.
“Ironically, the club is currently undertaking a complete review of our underage and Academy structures.
“We absolutely share the goals of the city’s Lifehack Project and our City Council of supporting and developing the young people of the North West and beyond through sport.
“We are delighted to associate with the Flanders Peace Field in Mesen, the site of that iconic ‘Christmas Truce’ football game in 1914.
“As we also celebrate the opening of the Brandywell’s new North Stand this evening, Derry City FC is fully committed to doing everything we can to support the growth of sport in the region.”
While the Brandywell is the first League of Ireland stadium to receive Peace Pitch status, Limestone United on the North Belfast interface received the designation in 2023. Brian Casey, Limestone United, added: “The club were privileged to present the peace plaque to Derry City with our friends from the Lifehack project who do amazing work with young people from the Creggan area of the city.
“Lifehack participated in the opening of the Limestone United Peace pitch at Seaview Football grounds, the home of Crusaders FC, so it’s great to see another brilliant club having a Peace Pitch and contributing to building peace in our community.” Ernie Brennan, CEO of the Children’s Football Association added: “The Peace Field Project chimes with the city of human rights, it is all about the essence of play. “All children play without prejudice, when Allied and German soldiers stood up to shake hands, exchange gifts and play games on Christmas Day, 1914, the humanitarian act served to remind mankind that childhood is a time we all revert too, for love, peace and happiness.” For more information on the Children’s Football Alliance and the Peace Field Project visit https://www.childrensfootballalliance.com/peace-field-projects/
Amid the chaos of the tariff crisis and the dark clouds internationally, there is a potential silver lining for Australian mortgage holders.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Monday pointed out that the markets were expecting several cuts in Australia’s interest rates this year, including one next month. There has been one cut so far, in February.
“Markets are now expecting around four interest rate cuts in Australia this calendar year”, Chalmers told a news conference. There was even a “more than 50% expectation in the markets that the next Reserve Bank interest rate cut in May might be as big as 50 basis points”.
While saying he didn’t predict or pre-empt Reserve Bank decisions, Chalmers nevertheless highlighted what the markets are expecting.
The next meeting of the Reserve Bank is on May 19-20, so a cut would be after the May 3 election.
Chalmers said the “whole world” was trying to get their heads around the impacts of these “bad decisions” on tariffs.
Releasing updated Treasury modelling of the impact, Chalmers said it expected big hits to American growth and to Chinese growth, as well as a spike in American inflation.
“We expect more manageable impacts on the Australian economy but we still do expect Australian GDP to take a hit, and we expect there to be an impact on prices here as well”.
Chalmers stressed the uncertainty around the modelling and about the economic impacts more generally. “Clearly, a series of decisions are still to be taken around the world when it comes to how countries may or may not retaliate to the decisions taken and announced by President Trump”.
The Treasury modelling says: “The effects on the Australian economy are expected to be modest, however, some parts of the agriculture, energy, mining and durable manufacturing sectors will be more adversely affected than others”.
“Australia’s real GDP is estimated to decline by 0.1 per cent and inflation to increase by 0.2 percentage points in 2025 relative to a baseline scenario with no tariffs. Over the medium-term Australia’s GDP is permanently lower; while the effect on inflation is temporary.
“The direct effects of the United States tariff changes (from bilateral trade) are expected to be small.
“Most of Australia’s exposure to US tariffs comes from reduced demand for Australian exports from major trading partners including China, Japan, South Korea, and India.
“The indirect effects of US tariffs on Chinese demand accounts for almost 80 per cent of the total impact on Australian GDP.”
Government to promise $1 billion for mental health, with emphasis on youth
Returning to Labor’s core issue of health, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday will promise $1 billion for free mental health services that would fill gaps in the system.
This includes
$225 million for 31 new and upgraded Medicare Mental Health Centres
More than $200 million for 58 new, upgraded or expanded headspace services
$500 million for 20 Youth Specialist Care Centres for young people with complex needs, and
$90 million for more than 1,200 training places for mental health professionals and peer workers.
The government says the new network of Youth Specialist Care Centres would ensure young people in “the missing middle” received needed specialist help. It would mean those with complex mental health needs such as personality disorders, eating disorders and early psychosis would be able to ongoing and intensive care outside hospital.
Dog day for Dutton
Saying you got it wrong is never harder than in an election campaign. Peter Dutton bowed to the inevitable in dropping his plan to force Canberra public servants back into the office, but fronting the media for the mea culpa on Monday was painful.
“I have apologised for the decision we took in relation to work from home,” he said. He added, with false optimism, “Labor’s run this scare campaign and I think we bring an end to that today.”
It wasn’t the only pain of the day for the opposition leader, who needs – to borrow his own election slogan – to get his campaign “back on track”. The message from Newspoll, the poll many Liberals take most notice of, was bad. Labor had extended its lead in a week, from 51%-49% in two-party terms to 52%-48%. This is close to the result of the 2022 election, and can only alarm the Liberal campaigners.
Some Liberals, disappointed with the Coalition campaign so far, are recalling John Howard’s mantra: you can’t fatten the pig on market day. “There’s not much evidence the work has been done,” one says.
As of late Monday, Dutton had still not produced the modelling for his controversial gas reservation scheme, which has made it more difficult for candidates to explain the policy to voters.
On another front, the Liberals have also failed to do their work properly in vetting candidates. They’ve had to disendorse their candidate for the Sydney Labor seat of Whitlam, Ben Britton.
Previously Britton had said women should be removed from combat positions in the defence force. “Their hips are being destroyed because they can’t cope with the carrying of the heavy loads and the heavy impacts that’s required for doing combat-related jobs,” he said, among other comments attacking “diversity and equity quotas” for weakening Australia’s defence.
In previous elections, parties have had to remove candidates after previous embarrassing comments have turned up. Surely the Liberals would have learned to be scrupulous in vetting. But in the New South Wales Liberal organisation, it seems to take a long time for the messages to get through.
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Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Through Wolverhampton Council’s housing framework, Morro Partnerships is currently developing 2 sites in Bushbury for new council homes – ‘Magic Gardens’ off Sandmere Rise and land off Old Fallings Crescent.
As part of its commitment to communities, members of Morro Partnerships’ new build team joined council volunteers and roped in members of D&R Contract Services Limited to redecorate the nearby Bushbury Triangle Resource Centre.
The centre on Stanley Road offers free community services and support to residents in need, with activities including children’s gardening clubs, free breakfasts and bingo. It also provides office space for other local organisations to run services, including homelessness support.
The building interior was showing signs of wear and tear – but has now been painted from top to bottom by the housing partners, using paint donated by Dulux.
Steve Harris, Bushbury Triangle Chair of Trustees, said: “We are really grateful as we couldn’t do it ourselves. It has vastly transformed the building which hadn’t been decorated in 25 years.
“Having a nicer environment will help us provide better services to the community and encourage people to use the centre.”
City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing, Councillor Steve Evans, said: “Bushbury Triangle Resource Centre provides invaluable support and services to city residents and continues to grow in popularity.
“Their home needed a refresh and hats off to the staff from the council housing team and everyone else for volunteering their time to help, equipment and supplies to support this invaluable asset at the heart of the Bushbury community.
“When we select our council housing development partners, as well as demanding they deliver quality and sustainable homes for our residents, we expect them to provide wider benefits to the community.
“We have built a thriving working relationship with Morro Partnerships and I’m delighted they are supportive of our work to maintain well connected neighbourhoods.”
Morro Partnerships Head of Social Purpose, Abdul Mozzamdar, said: “Bushbury Triangle Resource Centre is an invaluable service for the local community, which I experienced firsthand when I visited the centre last November.
“The commitment from the volunteering residents is highly commendable, and it is a key example of true community spirit, which I feel should be emulated across all cities, towns and villages in England.
“Morro Partnerships has committed to supporting communities in which we work, live, and play, and this intervention highlights our commitment to make lasting changes for the community to enjoy for generations to come.
“A big thank you goes to D&R Contract Services Limited for their support in helping the community.”
Council was delighted to support cultural diversity and inclusion awareness events across Southern Regional College (SRC). In an increasingly interconnected world, students at the college immersed themselves in the vibrant tapestry of cultures that enrich Northern Ireland.
The events featured a dynamic mix of workshops, discussions and performances, all designed to showcase the rich diversity within local communities. Students had the opportunity to engage with key stakeholders from the Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP), Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Community Development and Good Relations Team, Victim Support NI and the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Artsekta, an award-winning social enterprise dedicated to transforming communities through shared creative experiences, brought the essence of global cultures to life with captivating dance performances from Mexico, China and India. These performances were followed by insightful talks on the traditions and heritage of these countries. Student Celine Maria Corhea also spoke on her Romanian roots and gave fellow students an insight into her heritage.
Victim Support NI and the PSNI addressed sensitive topics which included discrimination, prejudice and social challenges which continue to remain present within our communities. Discussions centred on how individuals can safely confront negativity and introduced students to various local support services available for those who witness or experience hate crime in their community.
Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough, Councillor Sarah Duffy, said; “ABC Council is delighted to work in partnership with SRC to support their cultural diversity and inclusion events. Communities across our borough are passionate about celebrating diversity, fostering inclusivity and working towards a shared and brighter future for all and we as a council are proud to play our part.”
Speaking on the events, Michael Availa from Victim Support NI commented; “With hate crime rising across NI, the Hate Crime Advocacy Service wants to ensure that SRC students are keenly aware of how to identify, report and seek support for hate incidents and that the community is resilient. Having worked with SRC over the last year, it is very clear that its students are ‘ahead of the curve’ on these issues and readily embrace diversity.”
The events at SRC’s Armagh and Lurgan campuses were funded by The Executive Office District Council’s Good Relations Action Plan and delivered in partnership with Artsekta, Victim Support, PCSP, the Community Development and Good Relations Team and SRC.
Perth and Kinross Council has completed an £800,000 streetscape improvement project in Perth, in response to concerns from residents.
People living in Pullar Terrace contacted the Council about a number of issues that were affecting the street. The land is owned by the Council’s Housing Revenue Account, so the Housing Service carried out a range of improvements including:
Improvements to drainage, which prevents flooding to front gardens during heavy spells of rain
Removing overgrown shrubs and trees which blocked out satellite and aerial signals
The replacement of a set of old outdoor stairs
Replacing a retaining wall that had started to bow
Improvements to a greenspace embankment, which has enhanced the look of the area and made it maintenance-free
Residents of Pullar Terrace were fully consulted before work began, and throughout the project.
Housing and Social Wellbeing Convener, Councillor Tom McEwan visited the street to see the improvement work. He said: “The completion of the project at Pullar Terrace underlines our commitment to enhancing the quality of life for our tenants and residents.
“We listened to their concerns and invested a significant amount of money to address them. The positive feedback we’ve received from tenants and residents about how the work has improved the street shows the importance of the community engagement we carried out through the process.
“The new drainage system, embankment and structural replacements have not only resolved immediate issues but also improved the overall look and functionality of the area. The project highlights how close partnership working between the Council and residents can lead to meaningful and lasting improvements.”
City of Derry Jazz Festival announces EY sponsorship
7 April 2025
St Columb’s Hall will play host to an international medley of talent next month, with the announcement today of the fabulous EY Jazz Lounge on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May.
The evenings are being supported by leading professional services company EY as part of an exciting sponsorship arrangement with Derry City and Strabane District Council, following the announcement of the company’s selection of Ebrington Plaza as the location for its new North West office.
The late-night EY Jazz Lounge will bring together some of the most renowned musicians in the world of jazz, led by local jazz legend Paul McIntyre. The line-up features Curtis Efoua Ela (France) drums, Brian Questa (USA) drums and Phil Robson (UK) guitar as well as special guest vocalist Winne Ama.
The intimate gigs are a highlight of a packed programme of events taking place throughout the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival, which this year runs from Thursday May 01 – Monday May 05.
Council’s Head of Culture, Aeidin McCarter said she was delighted to welcome EY on board for the festival. “The Jazz Festival is one of the city’s flagship events which is vitally important for the local business community and of course the local economy. So I’m delighted that EY are showing their support with this fantastic music showcase event – the perfect way to end an evening on the Jazz Trail.
“As a Council we can take the lead in delivering festivals and events that will enhance the visitor experience here, but we rely very much on the support and good will of our local businesses to really deliver something exceptional. I look forward to working with EY as event partners and I think it’s fantastic that the company is showing its support for the city, and helping to build our profile as a vibrant and exciting visitor destination.”
Aoife Warren, EY UKI Consulting Partner, said: “EY Northern Ireland is delighted to support the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival. Following the announcement of our newest office location in Northern Ireland in Ebrington Plaza, we are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with Derry City and Strabane District Council to support the vibrant cultural opportunities that the fantastic City of Derry Jazz Festival brings to the region. At EY, we are proud to support the arts community and we look forward to a weekend of great live music and entertainment.”
This year’s City of Derry Jazz Festival marks 24 years of Ireland’s biggest Jazz extravaganza, and final preparations are now well underway to deliver an unsurpassable programme brimming with the very best home grown and international talent. Over 400 performances will take place over five days, with live music on every stage and street corner.
The City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival is organised and funded by Derry City and Strabane District Council with support from Diageo and EY.
Tickets for the EY Jazz Lounge, taking place on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May at 11pm, are priced £10 and are available to buy online at www.cityofderryjazzfestival.com/tickets. For regular updates follow the City of Derry Jazz Festival on Facebook Instagram and X @derryjazzfest.
Amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill have been lodged by the Scottish Government setting out how rents will be capped in rent control areas.
The proposed measures will help protect tenants facing cost of living pressures and rising energy prices, whilst providing appropriate protection for the property rights of landlords and supporting investment.
Rent increases in control areas would be limited to the CPI annual rate of inflation plus 1%, up to a maximum increase of 6%. If approved, the rent cap will apply both to rent increases during the term of a tenancy, and in between tenancies, in areas where rent control is applied.
Ministers will determine which areas should be subject to rent control in order to protect tenants. The amendments build on a package of renters’ rights already in the Bill including the right to keep pets and to decorate rented properties without having those unreasonably refused.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said:
“Eradicating child poverty remains this government’s top priority and having a home can make a direct contribution to achieving this.
“Ensuring families can have secure and affordable homes that meet their needs is part of our approach to tackling the housing emergency. These measures will also help protect tenants against a backdrop of a continuing cost of living crisis and rising energy costs. We are doing what we can with the powers that we have as we know our policies are working to improve the lives of families in Scotland.
“Scotland already has some of the strongest rights in the UK for tenants, but we want to improve the renting experience even more to create an affordable, high-quality and fair rented sector.
“We have been working closely with tenants’ organisations to develop provisions in the Housing Bill to improve renters’ rights, including a system of long-term rent controls that is fair for tenants and encourages investment in the sector.
“Our rented sector is a crucial part of tackling the housing emergency and these measures provide important certainty for tenants.”
One of the UK’s first-of-its-kind mobility hubs is now welcoming interest to reserve cycle spaces and car parking as the countdown to opening begins.
Open to the public from Tuesday 6 May, the Ancoats Mobility Hub is a key element of the latest phase of investment in the area – the final chapter of two decades of regeneration in this neighbourhood.
This is part of over £40 million investment in Ancoats, funded largely by Homes England, supporting the principles of a low traffic neighbourhood alongside new public realm that will connect with and complement the soon-to-be completed refurbishment of Ancoats Green next door.
This investment has helped to unlock 1,500 new homes in its locale, centralising parking, cycle storage and last mile deliveries for a number of adjacent residential developments in the innovative mobility hub, while helping to reduce vehicles in the local area to improve air quality for residents and visitors.
The low carbon construction incorporates hundreds of photovoltaic panels on its roof and living green walls, making the building one of the most environmentally friendly in the city – supporting Manchester’s target to become a zero carbon city by 2038 –
The green wall scales the entire height of the eight storey building, with plants carefully chosen for their pollution-absorption, urban tolerance and year-round flowering. Just one square metre of wall planting can extract 2.3kg of carbon dioxide and produce 1.7kg of oxygen, while also filtering dangerous toxins and microparticles.
The Ancoats Mobility Hub in numbers
150 secure bike parking spaces and changing facilities
102 electric vehicle charging points, with potential for more – one of the largest charging parks in the UK
Spaces for car club/car share schemes
406 car parking spaces for residents and visitors
Over 400sqm of green wall
400 rooftop solar panels
Ground floor space for new wellbeing activities.
Over 1300sqm of new public realm, connected to Ancoats Green and the nearby canal and New Islington
Parcel locker hub to centralise how local people can receive post and packages, helping to reduce delivery traffic in the area
A commercial unit is currently in the process of being marketed
The public realm investment will also create new connections with adjoining neighbourhoods, making it easier and safer to walk, wheel and cycle in the Ancoats area connecting through to Miles Platting and New Islington – which will also link up with other active travel schemes and the wider Greater Manchester Bee Network.
The Ancoats Mobility Hub was designed by Buttress Architects.
Find out more about the wider regeneration of Ancoats, including Ancoats Green, No1 Ancoats Green (a housing development by the Council’s This City housing company), and new residential developments by Manchester Life.
Leader of the Council Bev Craig said:
“The Ancoats Mobility Hub is a central piece of neighbourhood infrastructure that will help to put people at the heart of this community, rather than car traffic.
“This is part of over £40m investment in the area’s public realm, which will also unlock1,500 new homes of different types, new walking and cycling routes, and complements beautifully the investment that we are soon to complete at the newly refurbished Ancoats Green.
“Rather than being a car park or cycle store, last mile delivery hub and new commercial space, this development is a blueprint for how we can create cleaner, greener communities – with few cars and more space for people to enjoy their space in a more peaceful, safer setting.”
Kim Challis, APCOA Regional Managing Director UK&I commented:
“We are proud to manage this prestigious site in partnership with Manchester City Council. Our proven track record with the design and build of APCOA Urban Hubs in Carmarthenshire, Manchester and Sheffield strengthened our offering, and we are delighted that the outstanding sustainability credentials of the new Ancoats Hub align closely with our own commitment to the environment. We look forward to being an integral part of this unique investment and to collaborating with the Council to incorporate feedback from residents and businesses as the hub becomes an essential part of local life.”
Max Wilson, Spokesafe’s founder said:
“We’re delighted to manage the cycle parking facility within Ancoats Mobility Hub. Best-in-class cycle parking should be as simple to book and access as a train or a plane – and any cyclist can book their rack at Ancoats instantly via the Spokesafe app. This facility is set to be a landmark one for both Manchester & the UK as a whole, and we’re excited to play our part in helping the local community travel by bike more often.”
Pauline Schaffer, Director of Infrastructure Funding at Homes England, said:
“The new Ancoats Mobility Hub is an excellent example of how funding from Homes England is helping to create vital infrastructure to support thriving places people can be proud of.
“It’s great to see the Hub setting the tone for a sustainable neighbourhood with a design centred around residents’ needs. The new Hub provides supporting infrastructure to enable sites like Eliza Yard, Jersey Wharf, Phoenix Ironworks and No1 Ancoats Green to begin development, supplying the local area with much needed new homes.”
LEICESTER City Council has launched a survey to ask residents how they currently manage their bins and recycling.
The council says it wants people’s views on recycling and bin collections as it prepares for changes to national legislation that come into effect next year.
The Government has introduced new regulations – called Simpler Recycling – which aim to reduce waste and increase recycling and re-use rates across the country.
As part of this, all councils in England are being asked to introduce a separate weekly collection for food waste from next year.
In Leicester, this will mean all homes will be provided with an indoor kitchen caddy to collect food waste, and a separate outdoor bin for just food waste. This will be smaller than the current black bins and is intended to be put out for collection every week.
On average, food waste accounts for around 40 per cent of black bin waste in Leicester.
The city council’s waste and recycling contract with Biffa is also due to come to an end in May 2028 and new service arrangements will need to be put in place.
Deputy city mayor Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, who leads on housing, economy and neighbourhoods, said: “It’s important that we start to think about how our waste and recycling services should work in future as we respond to big changes that will be happening in the coming years.
“The Government has introduced new rules designed to increase national recycling rates. Initially, this will mean the introduction of a new weekly food waste collection service from next year. This will require new bins for households to separate their food waste and will significantly reduce the amount of food waste going into black bins. – by almost half.
“With changes to national legislation, we need to consider how we keep bin collections and recycling services simple to use, reliable and cost effective while ensuring that we all do our bit to recycle more and protect the environment.
“Nothing is going to change for a while, and we are very much in listening mode. We really want to hear people’s views, and answers to our online survey will help inform how we shape waste and recycling services in the future.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Hundreds of quangos to be examined for potential closure as Government takes back control
Every quango across government will be reviewed, with a view to close, merge or bring functions back into departments if its continued existence cannot be justified
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has written to departments to justify every quango otherwise they’ll be closed, merged, or have powers brought back into the department.
Changes will drive efficiency and reduce bureaucracy as part of Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, delivering security and renewal for working people.
New era of global instability means Government must go further and faster in reform.
Government will consider what legislation may be required to deliver these reforms.
Every quango across government will be reviewed, with a view to close, merge or bring functions back into departments if its continued existence cannot be justified.
The review, commissioned by the Cabinet Office at the request of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is the latest move to re-wire Whitehall and produce a more productive and agile state. It is part of our Plan for Change, delivering security for working people and national renewal.
This follows news last month that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to put an end to the duplication resulting from two organisations doing the same job in a system currently holding staff back from delivering for patients.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden MP said:
We are taking action to ensure decisions of national importance that affect everyone in this country are made by those who have been elected to do so.
Only by fundamentally re-wiring the state, can we deliver our Plan for Change to secure Britain’s future and serve working people; kick-starting economic growth, rebuilding the NHS and strengthening our borders.
The review will aim to drive out waste and inefficiency across Whitehall, reducing duplication and bureaucracy – saving the taxpayer money and cutting the cost of ‘doing government’.
It is expected that quangos with large policy functions could be brought back into departments, bringing ministerial, elected, scrutiny back to major decisions that affect the public. This would also retain the expertise and experience of staff working in these areas.
All departments must demonstrate the necessity of each one, operating under the presumption that these bodies will be affected unless there is compelling justification for their separate existence.
Where independence from Ministerial decision making is essential, such as quangos which scrutinise government or protect the rule of law, then these will remain unaffected.
The Cabinet Secretary and departmental Secretaries of State and Permanent Secretaries will be held directly accountable for the Arms Length Body (ALBs) that continue to exist following the review.
The review will consider four key principles:
Ministerial policy oversight – if a policy is of national importance then Ministers should have appropriate oversight and control of its development. Major decisions that affect the country and the public should be taken by those elected by the country to do so.
Duplication and Efficiency – government should drive out duplication and inefficiency wherever possible, this includes if there is duplication of policy or delivery work between ALBs and Ministerial departments.
Stakeholder Management – the fact that government needs to engage stakeholders should not be a reason for an ALB to exist, government itself should be working hard to engage with a variety of partners at every stage.
Independent Advice – where there is a clear justification for independent advice, then this should be conducted at arms length.
Many ALBs are set up in legislation, and previous work to deliver these changes has been hampered by the difficulty in updating and changing individual pieces of ALB legislation. As part of this work, the Government will consider what legislation may be required to ensure the reviews announced today can be implemented and delivered upon.
Scotland’s known public sector procurement spend in 2022-23 delivered an estimated 120,000 full-time equivalent jobs and £7.5 billion to Scottish GDP.
The sixth annual report on procurement activity in Scotland shows that known procurement spend generated an estimated £13.7 billion in economic activity.
Small or medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland benefited from more recorded procurement spend compared to the previous year. 61 pence in every pound spent in Scotland was with SMEs, up from 55 pence in every pound the year before.
Public Finance Minister, Ivan McKee said:
“Public procurement contributes billions to Scotland’s economy and supports thousands of jobs.
“The increase in contracts awarded to SMEs is particularly welcome. SMEs are critical to the economic lifeblood of Scotland and can often bring an agility and flexibility that allows them to introduce innovative solutions faster than larger organisations.
“Public procurement has a pivotal role to play in delivering a sustainable future for Scotland and with a spend that is now in excess of £16 billion a year, we have an opportunity to make a real difference through using this in even more productive and innovative ways.”
Background
Under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, public bodies must consider and act on opportunities to achieve economic, social and environmental benefits through spending on goods and services.
Public bodies include local authorities, universities, NHS health boards and housing associations.
The report also shows:
Known Scottish public sector procurement spend totalled £16.6 billion in 2022-23, of which £8.9 billion was spent in Scotland alone.
Suppliers based in the 60% most deprived areas received approximately £500 million more known procurement spend on the previous year, totaling £4.8 billion.
Third sector organisations received an estimated £1.2 billion (or 13.3%) of known public procurement spend in Scotland during the reporting year.
107 public bodies reported examples of the ways in which environmental wellbeing and climate change were addressed through procurement.
Some 18,079 suppliers were awarded contracts through the Public Contracts Scotland platform. Of these suppliers, 77% were SMEs.
